Yours truly
by Jenova-chan
Summary: AU. When Piers graduated from the marine biology institute, he had dreams and goals. But since then, life has become so much more complicated. Complicated in ways he never thought was possible. Felix/Piers.
1. Chapter 1

As the summary said, this is an AU. That means that I basically just hi-jacked whatever things I wanted from Golden Sun, and placed them in a different reality. If it doesn't suit your tastes, click the backwards-button. This is also going to be yaoi, a man-man relationship, so...y'know... backwards-button if you don't like that either.

I'm almost sure that this plot is _really _similar to a movie I've seen... which name I have forgotten, but yeah. If you notice that the plot is similar to something else, it's probably because it is.

I made Piers French, and the translations for his French... will actually _not _be provided, since I figure that it's pretty clear what he says anyway. If there's any longer sentances, I will translate them for easier reading at the bottom of the page. If you think this is bad or weird, please say so and I'll translate everything. Babelfish is the one providing the French, so I cannot assure you just _how _accurate the language will be...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Golden Sun, or this plot (I think).

As per costume, since this is an AU, they might (read as probably will be) OOC to some degree, despite me trying to keep them somewhat in character.

* * *

"You _do_ _not _dive in_ the shark tank! _You could've gotten seriously hurt, not to mention that _you could've died!_" A strained, furious voice cried, and the sound came from somewhere around the stairs, leading up to the deep pool that contained one of the world's deadliest creatures. "_What _were you thinking?! _Fou!_" And after that came a string of French curses, some so inventive that they surely only now saw the light of day.

Alex frowned slightly, and tugged a few strands of pale blue hair behind his ear. It was far too early for this sort of commotion. The Marina Zoo wasn't even open yet. Still, the voices continued to argue.

"I'm sorry! I told you, I didn't know!" Another voice, by the sound a bit younger than the other and, by the sound of it, frightened beyond reasonable doubt, piped up.

"You _didn't know?! _You _didn't know _it was a bad idea to swim around with three sharks, three carnivores, _before _they had anything to eat?!" The first voice shrieked, and Alex was sure he heard the speaker sight in irritation. "Didn't you learn _anything _in school?! Do you have _any idea _how much you looked like seal, ready to get shredded and mauled into breakfast?! _Merde!_"

"I thought it was the dolphins' pool, _I said I was sorry! _You dive into the pools all the time!" The younger pitched his voice higher until it was a piercing whine, and Alex picked up his pace when he realized that the particular persons standing by the stairs were two of his employees.

A young man with a caramel toned tan rolled his eyes and let his hands fall to his sides in a motion so exhausted and annoyed that Alex had to smile. It wasn't very often he saw the Frenchman this mad. Although he would probably do best in ignoring that fact, and concentrate on the other male standing on the other side of the stair, clad in a wetsuit. He looked completely livid by now and, as the owner and as the employer of the two, Alex felt that now might be a good time to intervene.

"Ah, what is going on here, Piers? Shaun?" He walked over to them, making sure he didn't slip on the wet tiles leading up to the staircase and the gate where a sign saying _'No admittance! Personnel only.' _hung. "Is there a problem?"

"Axel, I didn't think you'd be here this early." The tanned young male, the one addressed with the name Piers, turned to smile at his boss. He then turned his, surprisingly yellow, eyes to the other man, now fidgeting and fumbling with the zipper of the wetsuit. "Shaun dived into the shark tank. Luckily, I was in time to haul him up before they decided to take a test-bite. Mon dieu..." He sighed yet again, and all the anger evaporated, leaving only fatigue and exasperation. Only now did Alex realise that Piers was drenched in water that made his turquoise hair stick to his face and soak the ground he stood upon.

The younger man, a newly recruited youth straight from school, glared at Piers. "Sir, I explained it to him already! I thought it was alright, since he-" He jutted a thumb in Piers direction, who eyed Shaun carefully. "-dives in the tanks all the time! How should I've known he hadn't fed them already?" The youth huffed and glared at the Frenchman who had occupied himself with trying to wring out the water from his long hair.

Alex sighted and ran a hand through his own ice-blue hair, while checking his watch. _"Hm, 08.45 already. This'll have to be taken care of quickly, if I want time to fix everything else for tomorrow..."_

Out loud he said: "Piers, would you come with me for a moment?" At the sight of his employee casting a nervous glance at the sharks, he rolled his eyes. "The fishes will be fine, Piers. They'll survive without food for another fifteen minutes, so come with me to my office please."

He begun to walk, not bothering to look back and check if Piers followed him or not. He _knew_ the foreigner wouldn't disobey him, and at that thought, he let a smirk tug at his lips. Everything was going to work out just as long as he played his cards right. Only one more thing... "Shaun, why don't you join us?"

He let his thin lips form the already initiated grin as he heard the surprised and terrified squeak from behind him, and he let it stay in place even as Piers walked up alongside him. He sensed the other male had something to say, judging by the way he unconsciously chewed on his lower lip. It was a habit of his that Alex had picked up on years ago, and something Piers only did when he was unsure of what he was going to say. Instead of waiting for the Frenchman to instigate a conversation, Alex tilted his head slightly to look at the other man. "What is it?"

Piers met his eyes briefly and then looked away again. "Don't be mad at him, Alex. I... I overreacted I suppose, but don't..." He smiled apologetically at his superior. "Just please don't yell at him. He's a good kid."

Said 'good kid' swore loudly behind him as the zipper of the wetsuit caught in the fabric. Alex merely shrugged and turned his eyes forward again. "Don't worry, my friend. I won't."

They walked into the main building and took the elevator to the second floor, entering the office of the Marina Zoo where a secretary, with her dirty blonde hair collected in a messy bun high up on her head and a pen absently tucked behind her ear, sat and ticked off various papers and occasionally signed her name with a quick, well-practiced flick with her hand. She looked up as the trio walked out of the elevator and greeted her superior with a nod. "Good morning, sir. The new food-orders are ready to be signed after I've checked them. I'll be done in a minute."

Alex glanced at her and nodded courtly, and walked into his own, private room. Piers however paused and smiled at the woman by the desk. "Morning Menardi. Everything in order?" He stepped aside so that Shaun could walk into Alex office as well, the boy still trying to jerk the zipper from the fabric.

"You know me. It _has _to be in order; otherwise I'd get a heart attack. You're dripping all over the floor by the way. What happened?" The secretary answered while carefully pulling her papers away from Piers vicinity. She looked questioningly at him with rust coloured eyes, and motioned at Alex door which still stood ajar and at his clothes that, due to being soaked through and through, were clinging to his body.

Piers shuffled on his feet. "It's ah-"

"Piers, please. Sometime today would be nice." Alex voice drifted through the door.

The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "Long story. Maybe later."

She smiled at him calmly, as if this was nothing out of the ordinary (which in all honesty, wouldn't be far from the truth. The Marina Zoo was the strangest place she'd ever worked in), and Piers jogged into the office and closed the door respectfully behind him.

Alex sat by his desk, looking at something he just had pulled from the pocket of his suit, but looked up when he heard the click of the door. He waved a hand to a chair on the opposite side of the desk, motioning for Piers to sit down beside Shaun, who'd already taken his place in another chair.

"Alex, it wasn't that bad... I'm sure he just wasn't aware-" Piers begun, but trailed of as Alex raised a hand.

Alex smiled pleasantly, lowering his hand again. "I'm sure you're right, and I won't ask what he possibly could've been thinking when taking a dip at-" He made a point at looking a little too closely on his wristwatch. "-well, sometime around 08.30. And I won't ask why he did that by that time, when the animals perhaps hadn't been fed, since I, to be honest, have no idea what you do at this time in the morning. I am merely the owner of the Marina Zoo; I do not take care of the daily routines. That is what I hire you to do, isn't that correct?" He kept his voice polite and calm, loving the way the young man squirmed in his seat.

"_This was, after all, a good way to start off the morning..." _He thought wickedly, while letting his fingers play with the pencil on his desk, spinning it lazily back and forth.

"Sir, I didn't know-" Shaun begun but quickly snapped his mouth shut, so fast that Alex could hear the youths teeth click together, when Alex cleared his throat.

"I'm certain you have a perfectly valid excuse for this, and I want you to know that you're forgiven." He smiled at the fidgeting boy, who relaxed visibly. Alex let his eyes flick over too meet with a pair of yellow ones for a second, and he let his smile widen when he saw the disbelieving, but also grateful look in Piers eyes. Ah, the Frenchman was just too kind-hearted for his own good, even if he'd know Alex for a long time.

Shaun's face split up in a grin of relief and gratitude. "Thank you, sir! You won't regret-"

"Although, it saddens me to say that you're fired." Alex continued with a voice clear of any kind of remorse, choosing to ignore the young man's rambling of praise entirely. "If you would be so kind to clean out your locker, you could pick up all the papers needed at Miss Snow's desk and be on your way before we open." He had to restrain his tone voice from being laden with almost childish glee, as he saw Shaun's face crumble into a mess of confusion and horror. He kept his smile as he heard Piers chocked gasp, and he waved a hand gracefully at the door. "The door is right over there."

"But, sir! I _need _this job, I swear I won't do anything like that again! Just don't-" Here, much to Alex amusement, the youth actually whimpered and clumsily tried to straighten in the chair. "Don't fire me, sir!"

Alex made a show of thinking about it seriously for a moment, still playing idly with the pencil. He still smiled as he looked into Shaun's eyes (which had started to water up, and Alex had to stifle a laugh). "Mr. Fletcher, I'm sure you need this job. But you see, I have no need for _you_. There must be other marine-biologists out there who, in contrast to you, can tell the difference between a shark and a dolphin and would be willing to work here." He motioned for the door again, stealing a quick glance at Piers who sat frozen in his seat, jaw slack and eyes wide. Poor, kind-hearted and caring Piers. He fixed the stuttering male with his hard gaze again. "Off you go then Mr. Fletcher." His tone held a cold and final ring to it and, if he remembered correctly, _no-one _hadever dared to oppose him for very long after he'd decided that enough was enough and that the show had to carry on. And right now, he'd decided that this was as much fun he'd get from this situation and that the show in question, without a doubt, had to go on.

And indeed, to Alex immense delight, Shaun fumbled his way out of the chair and stood up, with his jaw slack and mouth hanging open slightly as if he was about to say something but couldn't figure out how to work his tongue around the words, and slowly begun to toddle over to the door. It looked almost like he moved in slow-motion and Alex found it incredibly funny to notice that Shaun _still _hadn't figured out how to worm his way out of the wetsuit. Well at the door, the man turned his head and looked expectantly at both Piers and him, but the hope Shaun's face held collapsed into desperation and grief as the man realised that there was no second chances and no consolation to be had. Silently, he opened the door and walked out with his brown eyes fixed at the floor, flinging drops of water all around him as he raised a hand to furiously rub at his reddening face. The door closed in his momentum, and Alex sighted contently. Easy come, easy go.

"Alex… you said you wouldn't be too harsh on him. Wasn't that…far beyond too harsh?" Piers said slowly, as if he still tried to come to terms with what just had transpired.

"I only said I wouldn't yell at him, and true to my word, I never raised my voice." Alex said and gave the pencil a flick with his fingers so that it swivelled frantically across his desk. He raised his eyes to calmly look at the Frenchman and to judge whether this situation needed to affect his coming, eh… business-proposal. He deemed it so, and worked a small, comforting smile onto his thin lips. "Don't look so crestfallen, my friend. You've got nothing to be sorry about."

Piers eyes met his briefly before he averted them to his hands that lay clutched in his lap. "You could've been nicer…" He sighted and ran a hand through the mess or wet turquoise hair. "Sometimes I wonder how we ended up being friends. You're an ass Alex Mercury, just for your information."

"What fun would it be to be nice?" At Piers disapproving look, Alex just smirked. "You know you wouldn't be able to live without me Piers, and that's just for _your_ information."

"_And that's literally _and_ figuratively speaking, and he knows it damned well. But as naïve as he is, he wouldn't ever think I'd try to fool him, after all; we're friends."_ And with that sardonic thought in mind, he might've felt his smirk widen, and he might've seen how the Frenchman (probably unintentionally) squirmed a little in his seat.

Piers looked up at him, seemingly more relaxed and a small smile played in the corners of his mouth. "You're impossible, but what you say is true. Now, before I catch a pneumonia that I wouldn't be able to afford curing, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Alex leaned back into his chair, the soft leather that clad the back pillow groaning a bit when he put a little more weight on it. He'd been reciting this speech last night and, if he knew Piers as well as he though he did, his friend would swallow the story hook, line and sinker. It wasn't for nothing that Alex had gotten an A in drama class.

Mentally, he already had begun his victory dance. "Ah, yes… I'm sure you know that, with the economic depression and the decline, minimal as it might be, of visitors and all, the Zoo's finances are, well…a bit shaky you could say." He waited until he saw Piers nod reluctantly, and then started again. "Mind you, it's not like we're going into bankruptcy, but it's hard to keep our nose above the water so to speak. And I wouldn't dream of lowering the standards for the animals. That would only be cruel." The animals were a soft spot for the young Frenchman, and Alex knew how to exploit it.

"And… what can _I _do to help? I can't see how I could be of any assistance Alex, even though I'd do anything to help out." Piers said solemnly, looking as distressed as Alex had expected him to.

The pencil that danced between Alex fingers did a little pirouette as the owner of the Marina Zoo faked a concerned look. "I know you would, and I can't tell you how grateful I am for you working here with your… erhm, not very high pay-check. But… " He eyed the tanned male carefully, weighting his options. Should he tell him now or should he wait? Judging by the attentive and worried look the Frenchman's face donned, now would be an excellent time. He replicated an embarrassed sigh and pretended to focus his attention on the pencil in his hand. "It's… it's hard for me to ask this of you Piers…"

Said man leaned forward ever so slightly in his chair. "Alex, I mean it. I owe you a lot, if not _more _than a lot, so if there's _anything _I could do…"

That was a good response, and Alex could swear he heard a triumphant laugh from somewhere inside his head. To make the effect of what he was going to propose to Piers even more dramatic, he decided to go off-topic for a little while. "An old… well, friend wouldn't exactly be the right word for him, but it'll do for now, is coming to visit the Zoo tomorrow. He's not really one of my favourite persons to spend time with, but…" He paused theatrically paused and exhaled heavily. "He's got a rather large sum of money, this man. And he's about to gain even more."

Piers raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you knew… what do you call them in English? Hotshots? What's wrong with him?"

At the chosen word, Alex laughed in earnest. "I guess you could call him that, just not to his face please." He turned serious again and rested his chin on his entwined fingers, the pencils spinning slowly coming to a halt. "He lied to me once, before I'd met you Piers. He actually tricked me and got away with quite the amount of money too." He shook his head slightly when Piers opened his mouth, looking like he was about to say something. "I know it sounds strange, but we actually settled our quarrel and we… we act civil around each other at least."

Piers frowned. "Why would he visit you now then? And, if you don't mind the question, what does he have to do with the Zoo?" There was no trace of disbelief in his voice, only worry and confusion.

"_Piers…you make this too easy. You've made it easy for years…"_

"That's the thing, the core to it all, my friend. He's looking for a marine-biologist to aid him and his team with their research, and when he approached me with the question if I by any chance knew of anyone that fit his description, I told him that I did. I told him that I knew a young man named Piers Lemúrìan that would be delighted to work with him." He took the widening yellow eyes as a sure sign to continue. This was, after all, the most crucial part of his plan. "Piers… I'm almost ashamed for asking this of you, but if you accept the offer he's going to give you tomorrow, you'll be able to help me more than you could ever imagine." He looked up at Piers, his face the pure epitome of hopefulness and desperation.

"Alex… how could I…why would _that _help the Zoo? Not that I'm not grateful, I really _really _am but how…" The young Frenchman trailed off, his voice bewildered and his eyes sought for answers in Alex own.

"This is going to sound preposterous to you, and believe me I'm not keen on going through with this either, but from where I stand, this might be our only hope to save the Zoo. _If _you accept the offer, you'd be let into a tight-knitted group of researchers and their organisation. And if you do that and get close to this… hotshot as you called him, you might…" He deliberately trailed of into a sigh.

"I…I might what, Alex?" The question was timid.

"You might get into their finances Piers." Alex said calmly, already expecting the gasp that came from the marine-biologists mouth. "If you could do that, I might be able to take back what that man stole from me, after all this time."

"That would be stealing Alex! I couldn't... _we _couldn't do that, it's illegal! It would-" Piers upset and shocked rant was interrupted when Alex reached over and put his hand lightly over his mouth.

"Technically, it would be taking back what's rightfully mine." He withdrew his hand again and picked up the pencil again. "But I would never ask you to do this if I wasn't desperate, and I would _never _make you do this if you're uncomfortable with it, so I'm asking you… as the owner of the Zoo…" He paused again, and let his eyes lock with Piers golden ones. "As your friend…"

Piers was obviously distressed and very taken aback by the suggestion. "Alex…I don't… I just don't think it's a good idea-"

A knock on the door cut him off and a female voice drifted through the wood. "Can I enter, sir? The papers are all in order, you just need to sign them."

Alex glanced at Piers, who looked troubled and deep in thought, and then answered his secretary. "Yes, come in Miss Snow."

The door opened and Menardi walked in, her high heels making a clicking noise as she walked across the floor, and she stopped by the desk with a curious but subtle glance at Piers. She put the neat stack of papers on the desk and stood back as Alex swiftly looked through them.

"Thank you Miss Snow." Alex nodded at her and she smiled back. "Would you kindly notify me if Mia calls? I'm expecting to hear from her sometime today."

"Of course, sir." She bowed her head and left the room, with a last quick peek at the frowning young man in the chair in front of her employer's desk.

Alex stayed quiet and pretended to look through the papers he'd been given, and made sure to furrow his brow once in a while and sigh once or twice. When he finally put the papers down, he sagged his shoulders and signed at the bottom of the document that displayed the cost of the new order for animal-food. And, ever so sneakily, did he make sure that Piers undoubtedly could see the hefty price from where he sat. Alex put, what looked like an understanding and sorry, smile on his lips and reached over to squeeze Piers shoulder in a comforting manner. "I'm sorry I asked that Piers, please don't think about it anymore. I'll… I'll work something out somehow, so go back to work and forget I ever said anything." He pulled away and saw the look in Piers eyes.

_"__Gotcha' my little friend."_

Alex pretended not to notice the look he got from the marine-biologist, but started to collect the papers he'd signed instead. "I'll tell my friend tomorrow that you weren't able to make it, and that you send your apologies." He laughed, and faked a tone of underlying sorrow in his voice. "Weren't you worried about the sharks? They must be hungry by now."

The glance that Piers cast on the documents were proof enough that he'd seen the bill for the food, and that he, at least subconsciously, had made up his mind. Alex had to force himself not to smirk as the blue-haired male started to bite his lip. This time though, Alex decided to wait until Piers said what he'd known Piers would say all along.

"…Is there really no other way?" The question was resigned, a tone rarely heard in the man's voice.

Alex put on a mask of surprise. "I told you not to think about it anymore. I'll figure something out… it might not look good right now, but surely things will work out-"

"Will it…affect the animals? Tell me the truth Alex."

Alex grimaced. "I can't promise you anything… we might have to cut the budget a bit… we might even have to sell some of them, but I won't allow them to come to harm."

"I'll… I'll do it. Or… I'll try to." Piers kept his eyes glued on his hands and the uncertainty was clear in his voice, but Alex knew better.

"What? No, my friend, no. I couldn't-" Alex kept his voice sounding as if he was surprised, but in the back of his mind he'd already uncorked the champagne and was on his way to toast to celebrate his victory.

Piers met his eyes, determination shining through the uncertainty in the yellow irises. "I'll do it for the Zoo and the animals, Alex. I meant it when I told you I'd do anything. I'll do it for you, because I _owe _you that much. And for what you did back then…" His lips quirked upwards in a wavering smile. "I have to pay you back sometime; otherwise I'd be one lousy friend. Besides, as you said, it's technically just taking back what's yours anyway." He laughed shakily and stood up in front of the desk.

Alex too rose from his chair and didn't have to fake his grateful smile this time, since his juvenile glee of getting things his way was far too powerful to keep from his appearance. "Piers… you have no idea how much this means to me. To the Zoo. To everyone who works here."

The young man in front of him shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. "Alex, please understand that I won't… I can't _promise _any results or that I'll succeed, but I'll try. That, I _can _promise." Piers looked up with badly hidden curiosity. "Who is this person anyway?"

"Oh, I think you've heard of him. He's been highlighted by media for some time now. Do you know of the Atlantis research, financed by the Anemos fund?" Alex asked lightly, as if only talking about the weather.

Piers eyes however, widened considerably. "_The Atlantis research?!_ They're professional investigators and scientists! Alex, there's no way I could ever fit into _that _kind of team! They're the top of the field"

Alex snorted. "Don't sell yourself so short. Felix seemed satisfied with your education and your grades."

"You're not talking about… the head-archaeologist of the team are you? Felix-" The Frenchman started to look a little unsteady on his feet as he stared unbelievingly at his boss.

"Yes, I think I am. His name is Felix Newvale, archaeologist and leader of the Atlantis team. The 'hotshot' I made an acquaintance of a long time ago, and the man who got away with fraud." Alex said fluently, and studied Piers with mild concern. It wouldn't do any good if the young man fainted in his office…

"Alex… he's _famous_ and _rich_, while I'm nothing! He won't hire me!"

Alex smiled reassuringly. "I might've spiced your references up a bit. And don't worry about the rich and famous bit. I've… taken care of a few things, so it won't be a problem." He nodded at Piers. "Let me do all the important talking tomorrow, and you'll see that everything will work out. Now, off to work with you. We're opening in forty minutes."

That seemed to wake Piers up, and he pivoted around to look at the clock that hung on the wall. "_Merde_! I didn't realise she was this much!" He started to walk towards the exit and Alex sat down again, but before opening the door, Piers turned around with confusion written all over his face. "What do you mean by 'taken care of a few things' Alex?"

Alex just shrugged, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the trusting Frenchman. "You'll see tomorrow, my friend. I promise you that everything will be fine. You'll save the Marina Zoo, Piers. But you'll have to hurry if you want to have any animals left to save. They're probably starving right now."

Piers snorted, but rushed out with a last glance at the clock and disappeared from Alex sight as he closed the door behind him.

At the desk, made by dark mahogany, Alex sunk further down in his seat and revelled in the smell of old leather that the chair smelled faintly of.

"_Not a bad morning at all…"_

And he did nothing to stop the chuckle that rose from the back of his throat, that eventually evolved into a low victorious laughter, but simply picked up the pencil again and started to choreograph its rickety and twirling dance across the papers he'd signed a few minutes ago. He was a master of minds, that he was sure of. A puppeteer who took the utmost care of his living puppets, who trusted him inexplicably.

"_Oh, Piers… and Felix too for that matter. You won't even know what hit you, and when you figure it all out, I'll be long gone."_

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So... uh... yeah. How strange was it? The chapters will sometimes change their perspectives somewhat, so not everything will be read from Alex side. Next will actually be Piers, and he will be the main one through this story. Please review, it's always so very appreciated. Thank you for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

My finals are almost done! School is almost done! More chapters ahoy! And, as ashamed I am for asking this of you, but review and give me constructive critizism please. It's good to get feedback, even though that's not entirely why I'm writing, and I'm looking to _improve _myself. Happy reading!

Thank you for the Fav and Alert, Melkkoe!

**Disclaimer:** Guess what? I don't own these characters in any way. Big surprise, yeah?

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He awoke early, even before his alarm had the chance to beep its living daylights out, but yet he stayed in bed, waiting for the red digital numbers to tick and tock their way down to 05.30. His yellow eyes were open but glazed over in a way that spoke volumes about how conscious the young man really was, and they were fixed on an invisible spot in the ceiling.

"_What in the world have I gotten myself into…?"_

He was supposed to meet a man who practically _ruled _the archaeologist field of research, and man richer and more powerful than he himself would ever dream of to become.

He'd worked late (again) yesterday and when he'd finally stepped into his small apartment, he'd stumbled into bed and practically fainted in exhaustion. No time for thought or reasoning. But now, in the twilight hours of the day, his brain seemed to release a tornado of thoughts and worries that churned around in his head. Butterflies that he didn't know he'd swallowed began to flutter awake in the pit of his stomach and, for a moment, he almost felt ill with nervousness and tension.

He tore his foggy eyes away from the white ceiling and glanced at the phone that lay quiet on the small table by the side of the one-man bed. Maybe he should call in sick… sure, Alex would be furious for a while but they'd worked out stuff like this before… maybe he should just stay in bed all day…

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-_

He was startled into action as his alarm begun it's daily ritual of waking him up, and he flailed wildly with his arm to shut it off. He missed the button but hit the whole clock, and it tumbled to the floor and stuttered into a silent and raspy _meep meep _that pathetically continued to resound in his otherwise silent room. He hung of the side of the bed, while groping for the 'off'-button, and hoped that it wasn't too damaged.

"_The last thing I want to spend money on is buying a new one of these hellish things."_

He managed to clumsily turn the alarm off and hauled himself out of bed, only briefly shuddering as his bare feet came in contact with the cold laminated floor. He'd have to heighten the heat now that summer was coming to an end, but with the high electricity-price and all, he was hesitant to do so. A knot tightened in his stomach when he thought about his bill going up, but he pushed it out of his mind for now. He had better things to worry about than his own economics. The Marina Zoo's for example. And his… strange way of helping it get back on its feet.

He made breakfast, still drowsy, and felt blissful warmth and calmness rolling over him as he took the first sip from a steaming mug of tea. He still couldn't get how Americans drank coffee at all hours, all day long. Even though Alex had nagged on him several times, he just couldn't stomach it. Tea, however, was the only thing that could calm his nerves after a long day at the Zoo, and the only drink he could bear to drink in the morning.

Keeping half and eye on the time, he wobbled off into the bathroom and started the usual routine that included brushing his teeth, having a staring contest with the mirror and the not so unusual conversation with himself, a dialogue with wildly changing topics and a language that swung to and fro from English and French.

But right now, his usually good mood was gone and he really didn't feel like even smiling at his reflection in the mirror.

"Mon dieu… I look horrible. Just my luck…" He grumbled under his breath at his counterpart that hung over the sink. But he had to admit, his outside did convey a rather accurate image of how he felt on the inside. Exhausted yellow eyes (that people always seemed to get drawn to), lined red from when he'd rubbed them, blearily looked back at him and an anxious and tense jaw made his lips press together into a straight line. And here he'd always seen himself as a morning-person. His musings were interrupted when someone knocked on the door out in the hallway.

"_Who in the world…?" _

He stumbled out in the hall and unlocked the safety locks (there were three of them, and a chain that he wasn't really sure how to use so he didn't bother with it) and opened the door just a crack. If you lived in the less fancy parts of a big city, especially if you lived alone, you eventually learned that it was much better to be safe than to be sorry. Most of the time, you weren't just sorry but also mugged, beaten or harassed. So he'd learned to be safe. It wasn't for naught that he kept a brick behind the door.

"Oh, Piers darling, I'm so sorry if I woke you. Did I wake you dear?" An elderly woman gazed up at him, short even for normal standards. It didn't make it better when he himself was a few centimetres above average either.

He sighted and smiled reassuringly at the lady, and opened the door wider. "No, no, I was already up Mrs. Prox. What can I do for you?" He tried to suffocate the yawn, that took the opportunity to try to break his jaw, with a cough and, if the look on the woman's face was anything to go by, was pretty successful.

"Oh, my! Are you ill dear? I'm so sorry, if I knew I would've brought some soup for you…" She started rambling about medicine and rest.

While desperately trying to, politely and gently as not to offend her, assure her that nothing was wrong, Piers started to wonder how this little old lady ever could manage to survive in this particular neighbourhood. Her name, odd as it was, was Karst Prox and she always reminded him to call her Karst since Mrs. Prox made her feel older than she really was. Piers didn't have a clue how many years the woman had seen, and her appearance didn't help him figure it out in the slightest. She had unnaturally pale skin, both the colour and texture reminded him of faded parchment, but her hair was red and vibrant. For some reason, she always called him 'dear' or 'darling', but Piers didn't have the heart to ask her to stop. After all, it _was _rather charming, and the lady was his landlord. It was better to keep the landlord happy, if he wanted to continue living as cheap as he was.

He realised that she'd ranted on about how his working-schedule wasn't very healthy, and he decided to make an input of his own. "Please, Mrs. Prox-"

"Karst. I've told you a thousand times to call me Karst, darling." She scolded, while peering up at him.

He smiled at her. "I'm sorry, my parents always told me to respect my elders. But anyway, what was it you wanted Miss Karst?"

She giggled (and Piers could swear that he saw a dusty pink flush on her cheeks for a moment) at the new name, and held up a basked filled with blankets. Within the cocoon of pastel-coloured blankets, a white and gray cat glared up at him. "It's Agatio… he's been coughing all night and I don't know what I should do." She said, with a tint of worry in her voice. The cat wheezed once and then settled with staring at Piers with eyes that almost matched the humans own, the cat's only more to the reddish hue. Karst gently stroked the remarkable fur (which in some lights almost looked teal or silver even if it originally was white) of the cat and cooed softly. "Poor thing…"

Piers, who'd always had a knack for animals, looked at the big cat carefully. It wasn't _that _old, but it sure was a huge feline and it'd never really warmed up to Piers completely. "Miss Karst… has he been eating properly?" She nodded vigorously, and he bent down to inspect the cat's eyes and nose. They weren't watery or clogged, so he assumed that the cat hadn't contracted some kind of flu. "I don't think he's very ill, Miss Karst. Are you sure it's just not a hairball?"

Her small eyes widened. "Oh, my. That might be it. He's eaten an awful lot of grass lately."

"Then that's probably it. Although, if he's still coughing by tonight, I'd suggest you took him to a veterinarian. After all, it's the animals who breathe _under _water that I know the best." He gave her a warm smile and she walked down the staircase to the bottom floor, and he heard her enter her own apartment.

"_Sweet lady. A little weird__, but sweet nonetheless."_

Feeling more relaxed than he had all morning, he walked back into the bathroom. But as he walked past his kitchen, he got a glimpse of the clock hanging on the wall, and his stomach lurched uncomfortably and clamped together once again. He was late. Very, _very _late. "Je suis en retard pour le travail… c'est _magnifique_!"He muttered breathlessly as he rushed into the bathroom, and managed to get a real good look at himself.

"Great. Bad hair-day, just my friggin' luck… today of all days!" He reached out to grab a brush, but decided against it and grabbed a hair band instead and collected his long turquoise hair in a loose ponytail. Snatching up his cream white headband on his way into his bedroom, he effectively tied it around his forehead to keep his long strands of hair away from his face. It would look okay, maybe a little strange, but Alex had always pointed out that everything in Piers appearance was a little to the exotic side. He had a light tan, not really brown but rather caramel, that never seemed to fade in the winter, his eyes were so light brown that they actually looked golden or yellow and his hair was naturally coloured in shades of warm blue and turquoise. So a headband wouldn't really matter, would it?

He threw on his usual working outfit in a hurry, and grabbed his wallet on his way out along with his keys and sprinted the last way to the bus stop. Panting heavily, he paid the chauffeur and took a place in the far back of the vehicle.

"_I'm on my way to work, where I'm supposed to meet__ with Felix Newvale… just like that. And I'm supposed to work for him and at the same time figure out a way for Alex to get his money back. While trying not to get caught by the police and not embarrass myself in front of the Atlantis team."_

He stared out the window, absently noticing that summer truly was on its last legs and that autumn lurked somewhere in the background, with its cold and bitter winds. Morning mist, rare as it was in the big city, still crept over the paved walkways and swirled lazily around a couple of light posts. It was rather pretty, but Piers really wasn't into the scenery as his mind was occupied elsewhere.

"_I'm going to die."_

He pressed the 'stop' button almost automatically and jumped off the bus when it paused in front of the Marina Zoo's gates. Entering the premises by the employee's entrance, he exchanged a few 'good morning's' with the rest of the staff as he continued his route towards the office building. He didn't know _when _the 'hotshot' was coming to visit Alex, so he figured it'd be best if he just went to Menardi to check when the appointment was scheduled. Strolling through the park area, he inhaled deeply and tried to calm his nerves. The air smelled faintly of wet cement, salt and raw fish (the last would be the dolphin's breakfast if he guessed correctly) and it reminded him that this was what he was most at home with. He was a great marine biologist; sure maybe not _the best_, but if that was what Newvale wanted, Piers would at least be honest about his skills.

Just like yesterday, he took the elevator up to the second floor and stepped into the waiting-lounge where, just like before, Menardi sat at her desk, typing away at a laptop. She looked up when she heard the elevator 'pling' its arrival and smiled at him as he made his way over. He raised his hand in a small wave. "Good morning, Menardi. Do you happen to know if Alex booked in a meeting with a Mr. Newvale today?"

She raised a finely shaped eyebrow. "Mr. Newvale? Felix Newvale you mean?" He nodded, and she sighted while looking at him with eyes that said 'you're-lucky-I'm-here-taking-care-of-you'. "The rich boy is in there with Mr. Mercury, right now." She jutted her thumb in direction of the closed door that led to Alex office. "Alex asked me to tell you to hurry. Mind telling me what's going on? It's not everyday our little Frenchman meets with the top dogs."

The resentment that spiked her voice at the mention of Felix made Piers tilt his head to the side, a motion displaying slight confusion. "Is there something wrong with Mr. Newvale?"

She shrugged her shoulders in an impatient and arrogant gesture. "I've never cared much for those rich one's who think they own the place. He's not my favourite, so to speak. Now, before you rush in there, tell me why you're meeting him."

Piers shuffled on his feet nervously. He couldn't tell her the real reason, which wouldn't just be stupid but it'd put her in a position he didn't want to put her in. So he did what he knew would work. He smiled apologetically and walked over to the door, and with a hand poising on the brass handle, he looked back over his shoulder. "Sorry Menardi. Can't let the chief wait. Another time." And quickly slipped into the other office, closing the door before the secretary had any chance to question him further.

"Piers, how nice of you to join us." The sound of Alex voice made him snap his head up to meet the berating ice blue eyes of his superior, but he was quickly distracted by the figure standing next to the desk. A figure clad in a dark suit and a light brown shirt, both of them seemingly expensive.

"_He's tall." _Was the first thing that came to his mind. And it was true. While he wasn't too short himself, the man standing by the desk would probably rival Alex height, which was a couple of centimetres above Piers own. Dark brown hair framed a pale, calm and unsmiling face. The eyes were hard and sharp, also they brown, but so dark that they almost looked black from where Piers stood and when their eyes briefly met, he couldn't help but swallow anxiously. This man was _nothing _like he thought he'd be. _"He's not one to mess with. It feels like he can see straight through me…"_

"Piers, this is Felix Newvale. Felix, this is Piers Lemúrìan."

Once again, Alex business-like voice broke his stupor, and he automatically took a step forward and held out his hand in greeting. The tall man, about Piers own age, took the invitation after a second of thought and shook it firmly. Piers managed a small smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Newvale." He thought his voice sounded awfully small and frightened, but a glance at Alex encouraging face made him steel his nerves and not bolt for the door. The dark haired man had an air around him that was... moody somehow. Dark and shielding, it did nothing to ease Piers discomfort.

Upon hearing Piers greeting, the famous archaeologist turned to face Alex. "I thought you said he was French?" The voice was even and deep, it revealed no emotion whatsoever.

Piers fought a blush and a little sting of offense. Menardi was right; the man _did _treat him like he was nothing but air! _"I never thought I'd share Menardi's way of looking at things, but he really _is _rude."_

"He is, I assure you, but he's been both studying here in the US for a couple of years, and worked here as well." Alex voice was pleasant and his ice blue eyes calmly studied the scene in front of his desk. If Piers didn't know better, he'd thought that the man was enjoying watching him squirm under Felix dark gaze.

The dark haired man snorted quietly and turned around to face Piers again. "Your English is good. It'll make things easier." He gestured vaguely towards the sitting Alex. "I believe Alex told you what I'm here to discuss?"

"Ah, yes. I'm flattered that you'd consider… I mean, it would be an honour to be able to be a part of your team, Mr. Newvale." Piers stuttered out, feeling immensely uncomfortable under the stare of both males. Was this how, ironically enough, animals at the Zoo felt like?

"Call me Felix." The dark haired man said, earning a small rise of Alex eyebrows. Felix however, didn't notice. "Alex told me you studied on Hawaii. Is that correct?" At Piers meek nod, he continued. "And that you graduated with grades above average?"

"_What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?" _He managed to nod again, glancing at Alex satisfied face.

Felix looked at him, with an unreadable expression, before his eyes softened. "You don't have to be afraid of speaking, Mr. Lemúrìan."

"Please, call me Piers." He mustered up a nervous smile, and didn't bother correcting the mispronunciation of his last name. Outside of France, no-one had been able to articulate it properly. At least Felix hadn't been as bad at it as his chemistry teacher.

The man nodded, seemingly pleased, and the corners of his mouth actually tilted upwards. This earned another mildly surprised look from Alex, which went unnoticed by Felix.

"_I'll take that back. He's not rude, he's just socially awkward. He probably has his reasons." _Piers smiled back, a bit more at ease now that everything seemed to run smoothly.

"He also said that you went back to France after your graduation. If you pardon me asking, but what did you do there?" Felix asked.

Did he just think run smoothly? _"I never went back to France! What am I supposed to tell him now?" _His eyes flickered over to meet with Alex, panic rising in his throat. Piers could make up a decent lie, but to lie to this man seemed _impossible_. "I…uh…"

"I believe that's a rather long story. The short version, if you don't mind me telling it, is that Piers was called home on the behalf of his grandfather who needed his opinion on opening a factory close to the water. Piers did the necessary research, and when he was finished, I was the one to ask him to come back to the states. I wanted a top marine biologist working with me, and it appears that I made a good choice." Alex said smoothly, and Piers stared at him disbelievingly.

"_He just made that up _now_? He's more convincing than the _truth _for crying out loud!" _He didn't have time to look shocked, as Felix soon turned his dark chocolate eyes to look at him again. The man seemed mildly impressed at this fake merit of Piers', and he stayed quiet for a minute, while Piers tried not to stare at his employer. Alex looked completely at ease with the lie he'd told, and Piers couldn't blame him. His family, and the relations he had to it, was shaky and complicated at best, and that story was something he could see himself do. Felix would be none the wiser.

"There's no need to draw this out any further." Felix spoke up slowly and walked up to Piers, who fought not to tremble as the man stared at him with dark eyes. "Would you like to be a part of the Atlantis research team?" The question was blunt and straight-forward, something Piers was getting used to hear from Felix mouth, and it made the dormant butterflies flutter to life in his stomach.

Had it been for any other reason, at any other time and any other person, Piers suspected he'd hugged them in gratitude for the very generous offer. But now, he settled with a smile, a nod and a: "Yes, of course. Thank you very much Mr. Newvale-"

"Felix." The tall man said, and yet again Alex did that thing with his face so that it showed something akin to shock.

Piers blushed lightly at the correction. "Ah, I'm sorry. Thank you, Felix. I'd love to work with you and your team. It'd be an honour." He bowed his head to show his respect and appreciation, but raised it again when he heard Felix clear his throat uncomfortably.

"Don't… you have no need to do that. We work as equals within the team… so please, don't do that." Felix muttered uneasily, before picking up a note from his pocket. "Here. My phone number is on the back. I'll send someone to pick you up at four, and then you'll meet the rest of the team. Call me if there are any uncertainties." He seemed to regard Piers for another moment, and smiled hesitantly. "A pleasure meeting you." And with that he swept past the Frenchman and exited the office without a word or motion of farewell to Alex, who actually didn't say anything either.

After a moments silence, Alex' face shone up with a smile. "He liked you." He said simply.

Pier spluttered and almost choked on his tongue. "He _liked _me? Wha-" He shook his head viciously to clear it from the cotton that seemed to clad it and the light-headed sensation it gave him, and looked incredulously at Alex. "_How _could you ever interpret _that_ into him _liking _me?"

The man behind the desk rose, smile still playing on his lips and he chuckled good-naturedly. "He asked you to call him Felix, for one. And he actually _tried _to be polite. And he smiled at you." Alex walked up to Piers and patted his shoulder. "Do you have any clue for how long I had to be around that man to get to first name basis? You did well, my friend. Although…" He trailed off, seemingly scrutinizing Piers from head to toe.

His ice blue eyes bore into Piers own and the marine biologist felt himself freeze on the spot. Alex serious, almost menacing, gaze had that effect on people sometimes. "Although what?" He asked, a bit confused to where the conversation was heading.

"Couldn't you've worn something more… appropriate?" Alex asked, as if suggesting a very logical thing to a small and very stupid child.

Piers deadpanned. "I was going to work, and I can't work in jeans and a shirt, Alex." Instead he wore his usual working-attire; water-resistant pants over a wetsuit and a thin jacket on top of that.

"_And a __headband. Let's not forget about that one."_

He suddenly remembered a thing that'd bothered him. "Alex… why on earth did you tell him that I went back to France? And, more importantly, how did you come up with that little side-story that accompanied the lie?" He asked, unsure of what kind of response it might trigger from Alex. Piers loved his friend dearly, but over the years he'd learned that the man could have almost womanly mood-swings.

Alex merely chuckled. "Didn't I tell you about me spicing your references up a notch?" And that seemed to be all that he wanted to say about that topic, and he started to walk back to his seat by the desk.

Piers decided to take his leave. After all, the animals wouldn't look after themselves, and the daily inspection of the killer-whales pool was already late. He turned his back to his boss and started walking towards the door but was stopped when Alex cleared his throat behind him. Piers looked over his shoulder to see what was going on. "Was there something else?"

Alex looked genuinely concerned, a facial expression so foreign and misplaced on his face that it almost looked comical. He sighed deeply. "Are you going to work now?" When Piers nodded, he merely rolled his eyes. "Come back to my office by two o' clock, and I might have clothes for you to borrow. You're _not _going to meet a top research-team in that outfit. And you'll have to shower too. I won't have you go to the meeting smelling like sushi." And to finish off the overbearingly stern motherly façade, he crossed his arms over his chest.

It was so out of Alex character and so unexpected that Piers couldn't hide the spontaneous laugh that came bubbling up his throat and he walked out the door, still giggling and deliberately ignoring Alex muttered curses at him.

"_I might survive this. It'll be interesting to meet my new team at least. And spend more time with Felix… I just wish I didn't have a secret agenda…"_

Shrugging his shoulders vigorously to rid himself of further thoughts on the subject, Piers smiled at the surprised Menardi and took the elevator down. He'd have – he glanced down at his watch – at least four hours to _not _think about anything else other than how much food the piranhas would need, how to best move the sea turtles into their new tank and to check if that dolphin really _was _pregnant (he didn't want to solely rely on the janitors, Lunpa's, speculations).

He smiled happily and tried to cease his giggling. He _liked _his work.

* * *

1. Je suis en retard pour le travail… c'est _magnifique! - _I'm late for work... that's _great!_

There went the second chapter, and the only chapter I have time to post before school ends. That's some time around 11th June, so after that... it'll be more regular I hope.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

I have officially graduated now! *dances a dorky little happy-dance* And how should I celebrate this I asked myself? By uploading a new chapter of course! So here it is!

"Regular speech."

_"Thoughts."_ (I felt so incrediably stupid when I realised that I hadn't put these clarifications up before. Sorry.)

**Mister/Miss Anonymous: **Let me begin by saying thank you for the kind review! I almost lapsed into depression there for a while, but you cheered me up. I'm happy that you erhm... liked, I suppose, Agatio as a house-cat! I'm also very glad I got some pointers about the possessive apostrophes, since my computer keeps on auto-correcting them for me. I tried to be more accurate, but to be honest I suck at any kind of apostrophes... so please forgive me if it's still not right. Thanks again for the review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any character or name from the Golden Sun games.

* * *

The working hours of the day went by surprisingly fast, and it seemed like only a few minutes ago that he'd been in there with Alex and Piers new acquaintance Felix. But now, when he stood in the middle of the office, in front of a big full-body mirror (that he had no idea where it'd come from) and with his boss criticising eyes analysing every move he made, it felt like the end was nowhere in sight. The clock on the wall depicted the hour 14.56, and Piers was currently trying on multiple articles of various clothing. His hair was still damp from the shower and he held no hope for it to dry in the time they had left until he was going to be picked up by Felix chauffeur at the front gates of the Marina Zoo.

Alex muttered something unintelligibly and rolled his eyes in frustration. "No, not that either." He turned to rummage around in a big duffle bag laying on the floor, and emerged holding a pair of faded jeans and a sleeveless pale blue turtleneck top. "Try this instead, please." And he promptly threw the clothes at Piers, who was halfway out of one of Alex shirts.

Pulling of the dress trousers, the young Frenchman glared half-heartedly at his supposed friend and continued putting on the new set of garments. "You couldn't have the common sense and decency to turn around, Alex?" He mumbled, while pulling the top over his head.

He heard Alex snort in amusement. "I can't see why you're so modest, Piers. You certainly have nothing to be ashamed of."

Just as Piers head found its way out of the cobalt coloured top, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his torso and he frowned. "You've never heard of personal space, have you?" And he met Alex eyes in the mirror, his friend hugging him tightly from behind. It didn't bother Piers much; the chiding question was more of a habitual thing than a real tell off, since he'd long stopped caring about why Alex sometimes felt the need to touch him in the most weird ways. Not that he'd ever gone too far, but still. Piers sighed and merely stood motionless.

"_Alex is Alex I guess."_

Said friend smiled broadly. "I've learned to ignore some of your comments, Piers. I do believe I'm going to ignore that one too." He 'tsked' and batted Piers hand away when he reached up to undo the headband. "Leave it. It's rather charming." He unwound himself from Piers upper body and flicked a few strands of hair over his shoulder, and his eyes held an appreciative gleam to them. "That looks decent. It'll do for now."

The marine biologist took a good look at himself in the mirror, and concluded that Alex was right. The faded and a bit roughed up jeans were a bit big, but alright, and the blue turtleneck was actually not bad. He'd always liked turtlenecks. "I suppose… is it really okay that I borrow this?" He asked and slowly turned around to see himself from every angle. "Aren't these jeans expensive and stuff?" If they were and they got ruined, he would never be able to afford a new pair for Alex.

"Yes, but the price is worth the design." Alex said indifferently with a shrug. "And it wouldn't do if you went to such a prestigious get-together in your own clothes, would it?"

The comment surely wasn't meant as a barb, Piers thought, but it stung a little nonetheless. He didn't exactly have the economy to buy fancy clothes, if he couldn't even think about the electricity-bill without breaking out in cold sweat. He blushed a little and forced a smile. "Probably not." He swivelled around and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Alex, what are you doing?"

Alex was, at the moment, occupied with digging around in one of Piers pockets on the discarded jacket. Withdrawing his hand, without as much as batting an eyelash, he held Piers phone in his hand. "I changed my phone number. I'll enter the new one for you." The Frenchman watched as Alex casually flipped the phone open and quickly pressed the buttons to form a new contact and then dialled in some digits.

"You're insufferable…" Piers sighed, but took the phone that was offered to him, and stuffed it down the front pocket of the jeans. He turned to the mirror and studied his long hair that, after the shower, had settled a bit better than it'd done previously this morning. He wasn't very self-conscious about his appearance, but nervousness caused him to pluck constantly with his hair. He tugged at the long bangs that framed his face and, for the umpteenth time of his life, wondered why he kept it long. He had, several years ago, tried to cut it a bit shorter but he hadn't liked the feeling (or the look for that matter) of having it that short. At the present time, it also served as a memory of his mother and it felt wrong to cut it. But it really _was _a hassle…

"You look very appealing, long hair and all." Alex voice cheerfully cut in.

"_Appealing? _That's not what I would call it… and have you ever thought about getting a girlfriend to say and do all these things to?" Piers muttered, referring to the earlier man-hug. He scowled at his mirror-image and decisively turned away, deciding that he didn't really care what Felix and his team thought. They'd get him like he was.

"_Why _did _I care in the first place…?"_

Yet again, Alex shrugged and sniffed uninterestedly. "I cannot seem to find the time, or patience for that matter, to establish a partnership. And, it's like they say, all good things come to a gruesome end, so why bother in the first place, hmm?" He returned to his chair, where he proceeded to inspect his perfectly manicured fingernails.

Piers sighed (again) and chuckled. "Partnership? You make it sound like a business-deal or something. And I'm not sure they say that it comes to a _gruesome _end…" He folded his clothes and stuffed them into the now empty duffle bag, while keeping an eye on the clock. It was almost time to go.

"A relationship is basically just an exchange of merchandise. You've got something someone else wants and someone has what you want, so you trade. It's very simple." With a flick of his wrist, Alex brushed away some non-existent dirt from the back of his hand. "It's just that I've never wanted something anyone else has."

Straightening up, the marine biologist merely waved the uncaring comment off. "Whatever you say, Alex…" He glanced at the clock again. "I'd better get going. Should I call you afterwards?"

"Please do." And with a small wave goodbye, Alex returned to his papers with an absent look on his face.

As Piers walked out, his ears were assaulted by a woman's voice that used the tone 'you'd-better-tell-me-what's-going-on-before-I-gut-you' to perfection.

"Piers Lemúrìan, you will, right this instant, tell me why you're playing dress-up in Mr. Mercury's clothes. And I will _not _tolerate any more excuses."

Piers bit back an undignified yelp. "Ah, Menardi… it's a long-"

"It's a long story, my ass."

"I'm… I'm going to meet up with Fe- ah, Mr. Newvale. He, um… he asked me to take a look at some things for his research." He motioned towards the clothes he wore. "Alex decided to lend me some clothes since mine are… I think Alex said that they 'weren't appropriate to wear to such prestigious get-together'." He lied to the best of his abilities, and tried to keep himself from fidgeting as Menardi's auburn coloured eyes bore into his. She was a pleasant woman most of the time, but sometimes he had the misfortune of forgetting why Alex had hired her in the first place. She was unmerciful when it came to finding out the truth and despite her feminine appearance, she was hellishly strong. _And _a good secretary to top it off.

To Piers relief, she seemed to believe him (people almost unconsciously did, he was just an honest person by nature, which made his half-arsed lies so much easier to believe) and she snorted mockingly. "Mr. Newvale needed your help? Couldn't he just buy himself a lab?"

"_I think he already has a lab."_ He thought wryly, but didn't say anything out loud. A woman scorned was one thing, but a Menardi angry was like a mythological dragon deciding to do a roast and toast on your body.

"You don't look too bad with those clothes on, Piers… if I wasn't already involved with someone, you'd be in the danger-zone." She smirked. "But you'd have to man up a bit."

He grimaced at the comment. "I _am _a man. How could a man man up? And how's it going with Saturos anyway?" Her on-and-off-and-on-again boyfriend Saturos was a bit of a legend in the staff's eyes. No-one had seen him, but stories and rumours came and went at random. Apparently he was like the human version of Superman mixed with the Hulk and some kind of super-villain. An angry, mysterious man, who supposedly were even stronger than Menardi herself, and badass to the bone.

Menardi only kept her smirk intact and batted her eyelashes. "That'll be my secret. Now run off and help the rich man, that can't do anything without your help, and try not to look too much like jailbait." Her eyes returned to her computer and she started typing again.

"I don't look like jailbait!" Piers indignantly replied, his voice a bit higher than usual. "Parlez pour vous-même..." He huffed and stabber the elevator-button and purposely paid no attention to the secretary's muffled: "Of course you don't, honey. No cussing in French in the office." He was above such arguments, he tried to convince himself over and over again, and he practiced to count to ten (calmly, he told himself) as he rode the elevator to the ground floor.

He jogged through the park, which by now was bustling with tourists, visitors and the smell of buttered popcorn. He expertly found his way through the crowds and narrowly avoided a child's ice-cream that would've ruined his borrowed top, and found himself standing by the front gates at 15.56.

"_On time,__ or at least it looks like it...come to think of it, I have no idea who's supposed to pick me up. Or in what."_

He subtly surveyed the parking lot, but couldn't find anyone or anything that seemed like a valid candidate. He briefly wondered if he should call Felix... he did have the man's number on his phone and Felix said to call if there were any uncertainties. But for some reason it felt a bit... humiliating to call and ask who he should look for.

"_He would think that I was completely helpless."_

Why did he care about that? It wasn't like he was supposed to become the other man's best friend or something, so why worry about how he looked in Felix dark eyes?

"_Since when do I notice if someone's got _dark _or _light _eyes?"_

He was so lost in his own thoughts, that he didn't notice the black limousine pulling over by the sidewalk.

"Would you by any chance be Mr. Lemúrìan?"

The elderly man, that somehow had managed to sneak up to him, tapped him gently on his shoulder and chuckled as the marine biologist jumped and whipped his head around to locate the one who'd spoken to him. The old man smiled politely and bowed. "I am Babi, your designated driver for today. Would you like to-"

"Babi, what's the hold-up? It's him, isn't it?" A girl with flaming red hair poked her head out the window of the limousine, and she seemed to be aching to get a better look at Piers.

Piers looked back to the old man, not exactly knowing what to say. "Um... yes, I'm Piers Lemúrìan, but who-"

The girl whined loudly. "Come on! Get in the car!"

"Oh, that girl..." The old man, apparently called Babi, sighed heavily before he yet again applied his polite smile. "We'd better get going before she decides to come out here and get you herself." And with those words, he started to walk back to the fairly large limousine (that Piers had to try hard not to stare at, since he'd never been in one) and let Piers follow him like a lost puppy.

Sadly, Piers didn't have as much time to inspect the car's interior as he'd liked, before he practically got body-slammed into the backseat by a reddish blur that exploded in an ear-splitting squeal.

"You're just as cute as I thought you'd be!" The bundle of red and jeans said, and a girl's face appeared in front of Piers own. "I'm Jenna, it's nice to meet you."

"L-likewise... I'm Piers." He stuttered, taken aback by the warm smile and the brashness the girl displayed.

The luxury car began to pick up speed, and when they'd reached the highway, Piers had gotten the fast version of who the girl was. She was Felix' little sister, a police officer-in-training, and she was _very _energetic. He couldn't say that he disliked her, she was easy to talk to and a very kind person (or so it seemed anyway), but she was just-

"Hey! Are you listening?"

-so _much.  
_

"_She's so different from her brother. It's almost impossible to believe that they're siblings."_

He smiled and tried to remember what they'd been chatting about. When he found that he couldn't recall it, he chuckled nervously and his fingers began twiddling with his hair that he'd kept let down instead of keeping it in a ponytail. "I'm sorry, I got lost in thought. All this..." He gestured around, motioning to the fancy interior, with both a little flatscreen and a mini-fridge, and sighed apologetically. "It's hard for me to believe that I'm actually here and all... it's all still a bit overwhelming." And it really was. The anxious knot in his stomach had disappeared for the moment, but he felt the butterflies flutter warningly in the pit of his stomach still. He knew he should be focusing on getting Alex money back but it was hard to do so, when all he ever dreamt of was coming true.

Jenna laughed at his sheepish look and shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. I guess big brother didn't tell you about anything in beforehand? It would be _so _like him..." She rolled her eyes with an exaggerated sigh.

He shook his head. "He was, eh... very brief about everything."

She smirked and punched him lightly on his arm. "Liar. He's never been brief with anything, he's just so friggin' serious and quiet that when he ever does _say _something, it's usually just the vital stuff. That's not brief; it's just a few small words." Her smile faltered a bit, and Piers thought that perhaps he should ask _why _Felix was so serious, but he figured it wasn't his place. Even if he _did _want to know.

Instead he broadened his smile and laughed softly. "Well, I haven't talked to him properly, so I won't judge him based on anything I hear just yet." He trailed off when he saw the curious look on her face and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I mean... from what little that I _did _talk to him, he didn't seem that, um... that bad with words." He finished lamely, feeling slightly uneasy at the way Jenna studied him. Maybe he should just shut up?

The red haired girl surprised him with merely looking at him for a minute. "You really are a kind person, aren't you?" She seemed to speak to herself, and Piers chose not to respond (partially because he didn't know how to answer her). The girl didn't seem to mind, instead she flashed a satisfied grin. "I can see why Felix wanted to ride with us to the centre. He sends his apologies, by the way, since he had to take care of a few things at the centre and had to leave by himself."

"Oh... it's alright. I mean, I'll meet him there, won't I?" He asked, feeling a little more at ease now that she'd returned to her 'normal' mood from what he could gather.

She nodded. "Yup, he's already there."

They lapsed into a welcome, but comfortable silence and he took the opportunity to take a deep breath and lean back into the lush pillows that the backseat was covered in. Or, it wasn't really a backseat as much as it was some kind of a sofa, but it did have safety belts. The windows were tinted a darker hue than normal, but he could look outside just fine and he realised that they were heading towards the sea, and the small piece of happiness that fact granted him was most welcome. He glanced over to Jenna, who sat with her chin in her hand, looking out the opposite window.

"Would you mind telling me what the rest of the team is like?" He spoke up, feeling a bit daring. The fact that he didn't know a single person on set wouldn't usually bother him since he got along fairly well with almost everybody, but now he figured that a bit of information wouldn't be that bad.

At the question, Jenna's face shone up in a bright smile and she turned to face him. "Sure. I might as well start at the beginning. All in all, they're five persons that kind of make the core of the project. You'll only meet three today I think, 'cause the Anemos twins couldn't come. They're the ones funding the Atlantis research. And I guess you've already met Felix, so the only new faces you'll see will be Kraden and Isaac." Her eyes took on a dreamy haze when she mentioned Isaac's name, and Piers had to clench his jaw to keep himself from smiling. He knew the look of a girl with a crush from experience (he'd dealt with all Alex fangirls, and all their looks had been the same, dreamy-eyed stare and an almost worshipping tone in their voice) and he knew that he was looking at one right now.

"_I hope that Isaac person is a more loveable guy than Alex. No offence there Mercury..."_

She seemed to collect her thought again, and continued: "Kraden is the group's main historian, and believe me, he's a historian that knows more than all the worlds other historians _together_. He's great at his job, but just make sure he doesn't capture you in one of his miniature lessons or rants." She grimaced, and showed just how terrible that fate would be. "He's _impossible _to stop. Isaac, on the other hand, is the head geologist. He's the best in his field by far, and we've – I mean me and Felix – known him since we were kids. He's kind of the guy who decides where Felix can dig up his artefacts and stuff. He's tall, but maybe not as tall as you, and blond, with blue eyes... but not as turquoise as your hair, I think-"

Piers politely tuned the rest of the description out and settled for nodding and smiling at her, as she enthusiastically carried on describing everything that Isaac was, what he'd done and what he didn't like and what he did like.

By the time the limousine came to a stop, in front of a huge building, she was debating whether Piers would like Isaac or not.

"-but I'm kind of sure that you're the type of person who can get along with him alright. Just don't mention that Felix is taller than him in his presence... he's still a bit touchy about that." She said as they stepped out of the car and breathed in the fresh air.

Apparently Isaac and Felix had some kind of rivalry between them, a friendly but prickly rivalry, and when Felix had outgrown Isaac, the geologist had taken that as a loss. Piers knew that this information probably wasn't _that _useful but, as he inhaled deeply and smelled the salt, seaweed and wet sand that tinted the air, he couldn't help to feel like it was rather _fun _to be let into a group like this. Sure, Alex and he were friends but he didn't really have that many others, since his working-schedule was as unpredictable as they came.

"They seem to be good friends, your brother and Isaac." He cut in, and laughed as Jenna rolled her eyes.

"If that's what you'd like to call it..." She sighed and started to walk up the short staircase that led to the double glass doors of the main entrance. Well up, she turned around as if she just remembered something, and pointed a finger accusingly at him. "Weren't you supposed to be French?"

Piers couldn't help but to break out in a fit of giggles as the question took him completely by surprise. She couldn't have known that her brother had asked almost the same thing this morning. When he regained himself, he grinned at her. "Oui, mademoiselle, je viens de France." He broke out in laughter again at her stunned face and then walked up to stand beside her, still smirking at her obvious distress. "The translation would be: Yes, Miss Jenna, I come from France."

"Showoff." She muttered, and punched in a four-digit code into a little panel by the door. "Babi, would you please park the car in the downstairs garage?" She called over her shoulder, and Piers forced himself not to wince at the volume. Who knew such a voice could be found in such a nice girl?

He shook his head and followed said girl into the building.

* * *

1. Parlez pour vous-même - Speak for yourself

The third chapter uploaded and over, and I hope I still have some readers. I decided to make Alex the kind of person who holds absolutely no regard for other people's personal space, for reasons that I will keep for myself right now. It'll be explained (or more likely: explored) later on.

Thank you for reading, please leave a little review on what you liked and/or didn't like! Even just a few words are greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Ah, summer has come and forced me to stray from the keyboard and out into the sun. Horrifying. But I'll do my best to keep up, smuggling the laptop with me wherever I go.

**Dude/Dudette Anonymous: **Thank you very much for your review, it kept me from entertaining the idea of letting this fic rest a while. I'm glad you like how I write Alex, since he'd just such an interesting person to write XD Of course he's going to keep on being an egoistical and selfish little twit, while developing a more... carnal side to his personality. I hope you'll continue to enjoy reading, even when this chapter is a little short. Thank you again!

**Etoile Luna: **Thanks for the review, it's really appreciated! Happy to hear that you like Piers the Frenchman, and I don't mind giving you the translations right here and now (beware, they're just swearwords anyway): _Merde! - _Shit! _Fou! - _Insane/idiot! _Mon dieu - _My God. I think those were all, but if I missed any, be sure to tell me! From now on, I'll try to translate everything :) Thank you!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Golden Sun characters.

* * *

The main hall was huge, but he didn't get a good look at it (only of the polished marble floor and the dark wooden receptionist's desk) as Jenna dragged him though the crowded room and over to an elevator and pushed him inside. He didn't bother to count the buttons that marked how many floors the building had when Jenna pushed the one that said 15. It was the top floor after all. The feeling of dread that'd so graciously left him alone while riding the car with Jenna, seemed to creep back again.

When the elevator doors hissed open and he got out, he expected her to follow but to his surprise, she stayed in the (quite spacious) elevator. He looked questioningly at her and she seemed to sense his discomfort with being left alone all of a sudden.

"I was only here to escort you this far. I'm already late for my shift down at the station, so I have to get going now." She smiled as he nodded hesitantly. "Felix will find you, so don't worry." Her burgundy eyes glazed over with an emotion Piers couldn't place. "Maybe you'll be good for him…" She mumbled, so quietly that he almost didn't catch it. She hurriedly pressed the 'first-floor' button.

Piers didn't have the chance to ask her exactly what she meant, since the elevator doors slipped closed again and the sound of the metal box going down was heard. He was left, standing alone in a hallway empty of people, with the nervous knot in his stomach beginning to tighten around his bowels again. He took a tentative look around, but the corridor was completely empty, save for a big potted green plant that looked like a miniature palm-tree, and he began to fiddle with his hair again. This would be what Alex would call a supreme moment for the collecting of information. Snooping around as Piers himself would put it in English. But he was hesitant to do so, _since he wasn't criminal, damnit!_

He tugged harder at the sliver of hair, and mentally gave up. He _had _to try to find something. Or at least try to take a look around.

"_This is so wrong in so many ways. But… I suppose I have to. Guess I have to check if someone's here. That's what they do in movies anyway…"_

"Um… hello?" He said, raising his voice a notch, with a bit of uncertainty. When he received no answer he begin to trudge towards the left end of the corridor, but the only thing there was a chair and another plant. A window suggested that he was in one of the outer corridors, and the view of the ocean calmed him a little. He walked back to the elevator doors, the thick dark red carpet swallowing the sound of his feet hitting the floor. Still, no-one there. The butterflies seemed to have multiplied themselves, and were currently raving in his stomach. He'd looked around enough. He didn't dare go check the door that was a bit to his right, for the fear of being caught.

Since when had he become such a coward?

"_What am I supposed to do now?"_

* * *

"_This is childish."_

Really. It was frustratingly immature, but he still did it. This was the most idiotic and embarrassing thing he'd done since… since…

"_No matter. It's still unbelievingly stupid. And juvenile."_

So why did he stand, dead still and barely breathing, behind a door with only a small sliver of an opening, and practically _spied _on his new co-worker? Something about that didn't seem right.

"_It's because it isn't."_

But he'd always been a bit… _hesitant _to trust, and to socialize with, new people. Truth to be told, it wasn't because he was nervous. He just wasn't the most sociable person around, and frankly, most people weren't _that _interesting. Add his rather tragic history of getting his trust betrayed, and he thought he had all the right in the world to do just as he pleased. If that was not to be overly sociable, it was all right with him.

The strange thing was that with this man he _wanted _to…

"_Want to _what _exactly?"_

Speak to him perhaps? It didn't sit right with him when he had to send his sister to accompany the young man to the research-facility, he _had _wanted to be the one to meet him. But unforeseen things had come up, and he couldn't let work get neglected just because he had a feeling of… whatever it was. Cold as it might seem.

He felt a smirk grow on his otherwise practically immobile lips, as the young man with the long turquoise hair started to timidly look around. Tanned fingers played with a few strands of hair and the male had started to chew on his lower lip, a nervous sign that Felix would learn to recognize soon enough, and a look of hopelessness shone through-

"_Yellow eyes?"_

He squinted through the gap between the door and the wall, but it was hard to get a good look as the other began to shuffle from side to side. At the meek 'Hello?' that the Frenchman uttered, Felix had to allow himself to smile in earnest. It was strange that the male didn't remind him of Alex at all, despite the similarities of hairstyle.

The youth in front of him, standing in the hallway looking lost and quite a bit anxious, was in a way very appealing. Interesting and… curious in a way that he hadn't really yet gotten a grip on. It startled him. Disturbed him.

_(Maybe it's time to stop pretending that you're empty__, big brother. Maybe you should try to let him be your bridge back to your emotions.)_ That was Jenna's voice, echoing accusingly in his head. She'd never said that in reality, but it would be so like her to do so.

When the young marine biologist out in the hallway once again started to pace back and forth, reluctantly coming to a halt in front of the elevator-button, Felix figured that whatever he'd been feeling before (things that'd confused him, troubled him), wasn't all that important and he pushed it aside. For now, he needed a decent marine biologist on his team. He didn't care that he easily could've hired another one. He wanted Piers Lemúrìan. And if that only was his subconscious trying to worm its way into his rational thinking, he couldn't care less at the moment.

All he knew, the only thing he was completely sure of, was that he couldn't let the young man disappear into the elevator and go down and out of his life. Not yet. Not until he'd figured out what he found so fascinating about him.

"_Maybe this time… it'll be different."_

* * *

Piers finger hovered a few centimeters from the elevator button, while thoughts of what to do whirled around in his head. The most logical thing he could come up with was to go down again and talk to the receptionist. Maybe she (or he) would be able to help him get a hold of one of the people he was supposed to meet, or at least give him a hint of where to wait.

"_Although… I could call him…"_

Jenna had told him to wait right here, but for how long? He sneaked a peek at his wristwatch, and concluded that fifteen minutes had already passed. This was ridiculous, he couldn't be expected to stand out in this deserted hallway any longer.

"_No, _you're _ridiculous! You can't even pick up your phone and-"_

"Piers?"

A hand was placed on his shoulder suddenly, and the voice that'd spoken was just behind him. He squeaked in a very unmanly fashion, his voice stocking itself up in his throat from surprise, and stumbled over his feet as he jerked away from the touch and spun around simultaneously. His back thumped against the elevator doors and his long hair, loose and newly washed as it was, smacked him in the face. His heart felt like it'd jumped straight to his throat and his eyes watered as some of his hair accidentally swished past and caught in his eyelashes.

A soft snort was heard, and a hand was reached out to help him steady himself. Piers impatiently pushed the hair out of his face to identify who it was, and realized that the pale and slightly calloused hand belonged to the man he was supposed to meet. "Ah, Mr. Newvale! I'm so sorry, I-" He managed to stammer out before the dark haired man stepped back and pulled Piers with him, since the pale hand still held Piers upper arm in a careful but firm grip.

"Felix." The man sounded slightly put off, and Piers struggled to get his heartbeat to calm down. He took the opportunity to get a good look at the man in front of him, and realized that he'd changed clothes since the meeting in Alex office. He wore dark denims now and a plain, chocolate brown button up shirt. The outfit might seem casual but, with a bitter twinge of envy, Piers knew that they were at least as expensive as his own borrowed clothing. If not more.

He sighed shakily and tried to smile, even though his lungs still seemed to want him to hyperventilate. "I'm sorry Felix, I forgot. Old habits die hard I suppose." He smoothed out some wrinkles, pretty non-existent wrinkles and mostly to occupy his hands with something, and Felix let go of his arm as if it'd burned him. Piers looked up, worried that he'd said something wrong but he couldn't see any trace of anger or irritation in the other man's face.

"_Like _anyone _would ever be able to read _him._ He looks as emotional as a rock."_

He immediately felt ashamed for thinking such a thing. It wasn't fair to judge someone in beforehand. He knew that much from experience. "Please, don't mind me. I was just… startled, that's all. Where are we going?" He tried to keep his tone light, hiding all his nervousness behind the slight smile that he plastered on his lips. He was no stranger to _that _particular mask.

Felix seemed to hesitate, regarding him for a moment, but only nodded and motioned for Piers to follow him. He turned without a word, and started to walk towards the right end of the corridor. Piers hurried to catch up, and set into Felix pace. He tried to take a subtle look around, without rising Felix suspicions, but when they walked past a room with glass walls that contained a big tub of water with something that looked like a big slab of… rock? he threw his caution out the window and turned his head to get a good look.

"Artifact. A hieroglyph chart." Felix said without turning his head as he kept on walking, but slowed down a fraction to give Piers time to catch up to him again.

Piers glanced back at the room. "And it's from… Atlantis?" He tried not to let his excitement show in his voice, but even in his own ears it sounded like he'd failed spectacularly.

"When we've deciphered it, we hope it'll confirm that the site is Atlantis. Until then, we're about 75 percent sure that it's from Atlantis, yes."

Piers nodded. "Can you?" At the look Felix shot him, he decided to try again. "I meant; can you decipher it? It must be like trying to puzzle together a jigsaw-puzzle without the reference picture."

To Piers surprise and delight, Felix granted him a tilt of his lips. "It's complicated, but it is doable."

They continued down the hallway, that'd turned and seemed to lead them deeper into the building, in a somewhat comfortable silence. While Piers tried not to think about what he really was there for, he let his curiosity get the best of him and he looked around as much as he could. He briefly stopped once more when they walked past another glass room where several smaller tanks with water contained an array of different items, all rusted and overgrown with something he suspected was some kind of small barnacle but it was hard to determine at his distance. Maybe he'd get a look at them later.

They continued to walk and the air seemed to get cooler the further they came, and it'd started to smell like disinfection-fluids from some of the small vents.

"I… apologize for earlier." The deep voice held a tinge of uncertainty, and Piers turned his head in surprise.

"For what? You didn't do anything." He was genuinely confused as he tried to figure out what Felix was talking about.

Felix furrowed his brow, the first sign of discomfort Piers had seen on the man's face, and shrugged almost unnoticeably on his shoulders. "I scared you. I'm sorry."

Realization quickly dawned on the marine biologist and he let out a laugh. "You don't have to apologize. I was daydreaming and not paying attention. But would you mind not doing it again?" He was genuinely happy to see the tilt of Felix lips again, and he briefly wondered how it would sound if the archaeologist laughed. The thought startled him, and it was mentally chased away as soon as it'd entered his brain.

The small (very small by any normal persons standards) smile lingered on Felix lips as he glanced at Piers. "I will try not to." He quickened his pace and walked past Piers to open a door. He motioned for Piers to enter first and nodded. "In here."

* * *

Apologies for the shortness of this chapter, but the next will make up for it I think. I also hope you followed the changes of view. If it became bothersome, tell me and I'll try to fix it. New apperances in the next chapter: Isaac and Kraden, my ladies and gentlemen!

Thanks for reading, and be do leave some constructive critizism if you can! I hold it in high regards.


	5. Chapter 5

Did I say longer chapter? I might have misjudged that part a little... but it was for the greater good, since this chapter would've continued into infinity if I hadn't cut it where I did. Sorry.

Keep in mind that I am not educated in any kind of marine biology, and that what Piers says might or might not be reliable... I try to make it at least a little bit accurate.

**Etoile Luna: **Certainly, Piers could use some mouth-soap XD But he's such a polite person, so I figure he could swear in only the more... dire situations. And yeah, Felix smiling would be a sight to see indeed. I figured he'd be more reserved, but still anxious to get to know Piers so... nervousness and half-smiles ahoy! Thank you so much for the review and I hope you'll like the new chapter!

**Noname: **Thank you for your review and by reviewing, you're making sure I'll stay hooked on this story. Thanks!

**Herr/Frau Anonymous: **I'm glad the POV's worked out, as well as their dynamic! I tried to put it into a somewhat realistic light, so that they just won't be head over heels madly in love all at once and then just be fine about it, and I'm happy that you think it worked out for them :) God, you know how to make a writer blush don't you, with your kind reviews and all. Thank you very much for your review, and enjoy the new chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own this. Suprising, isn't it?

* * *

Walking into the new room was like walking into another world. Outside the door, the lighting was dim and comfortable, the carpet was deep red and soft to walk on and the walls had dark wooden panels. In here, the lighting was bright, almost white, and the floors were bare and made out of linoleum.

Two big tables stood in the centre, one with a shallow plexiglas box filled with water on top and one with books and maps scattered all across the tabletop. It was colder in here too, probably to keep the research-material a bit more sterile than it would be in warmer air. A young man, blond and blue eyed, briskly walked up to them when they entered, seemingly not noticing Piers at all.

"I can't make any sense of these soil samples! This is the last time we send those divers down to test the ground, because they're clueless about what they're doing!" He had a lighter voice than Felix, but the growl in his voice indicated how irritated he was. He waved a few papers in the air in front of Felix face, but the stoic man merely rolled his eyes.

"What is it?" Felix simply said, seemingly unfazed by the outburst.

"There were these… things in my sample!" The blond man huffed and opened his palm to show Felix what he meant. "They practically just scooped up the top layer, not even bothering to find me a sample _without _this… stuff in it!"

"The layer of sand can't be very thick at the spot where they took it." Piers said slowly, uncertain of his decision to speak up at all. "There's probably some kind of rock or compact foundation below."

The angry youth snapped his head around so fast that Piers was sure he'd get a whiplash. Blue eyes met his and after a nanosecond the blue pair widened a fraction.

"_Ah, he noticed my eye colour. And me it seems." _

"Who are you?" And there came that question.

Felix cleared his throat and the blond man tore his eyes away from Piers to look at his friend. "He's my- the _teams_ new marine biologist. Piers Lemúrìan."

The blond man looked at Piers again and reached out his hand and the young Frenchman shook it with a smile. "Welcome then." The young man said, and actually managed to return the smile.

"Thank you. You must be Isaac, am I right?" The Frenchman asked, feeling certain that the man could be no other.

The man's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Yes, how did you know?"

"He shared a car with Jenna." Felix cut in, before Piers had the chance to figure out what to answer, sounding bored. "Isaac, can you fix the tests or not?"

Isaac glared at the dark haired man, but then shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "I don't think I can. There's too much other stuff that's-"

Piers decided to push his luck and waved his hand in mid-air. "Um… I think that there's no need for another sample. The soil will be too shallow for that anyway…"

Isaac cocked his head, adopting an expression of disbelief. "How would you know?"

Piers blushed, and shuffled on his feet. It didn't feel right to just to waltz in and act like a know-it-all, but… he _did _know the reason. "Those… the things in your hand." He nodded when Isaac waved with them questioningly. "They're barnacles from the family of _Balanus Aquila. _They usually grow only on hard surfaces, so it'd be hard to take a deeper sample. I'd suggest that the divers are sent a bit further away, somewhere where the water is deeper." He found himself averting his eyes in unease as the two men looked at him, and he pulled lightly on his lower lip with his teeth.

"_What was I thinking? He's a top geologist, he probably knows a lot more than I! He probably thinks I'm a complete idiot."_

At the surprised silence from both Felix and Isaac, Piers cleared his throat and let out a shaky laugh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I mean, you probably already know that…"

Isaac, whose eyes had been slightly unfocused, as if he was thinking, suddenly looked at him again. "No, I didn't. If you're right, this is good news." He hurried back to his table and started shuffling through papers. He glanced up to meet Piers eyes again, and tilted his head once as if to show gratitude. "Thanks." And with that, he buried himself in his work again.

Meanwhile, Piers still stood at Felix side, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer fact that he'd actually been useful with his information. Usually, the only thing he'd have to teach others was how much food that was going in which tank and what temperature the water should be in said tank. Barnacles weren't really a topic he'd discuss.

He shifted and glanced at Felix, not really certain of what he was supposed to do next. To his surprise, Felix was looking at him with an expression Piers wasn't sure how to interpret (was is liking? Or pride?) and it made the butterflies team up and make a loop in his stomach. But the feeling wasn't nervous like in 'I'm-so-nervous-I-think-I'm-going-to-be-sick', it was more like 'I'm-nervous-but-I-kind-of-like-it'. And it scared him a little.

To save himself, he plastered on the smile again. "I guess I did something right. Glad I'm not screwing up completely on my first day of work."

Again, it felt like Felix considered something for a moment before nodding. "I can see I'm not going to regret hiring you." The sentence itself could've been considered short and rather uptight, but by now, Piers had started to realize that it wasn't really the _words _that spoke volumes about this man. It was what he did and how he did it.

Like now, as the dark haired man spoke, his posture was slightly more relaxed compared to this morning in the office with Alex, and his eyes no longer held that guarded, steel-sharp edge (or so Piers believed, hoped and, far back in his mind, _wanted _to be true) that made him look so cold. He looked kind of handsome now.

"_What…?"_

He felt blood rush to his cheeks as he tried not to repeat that thought to himself over and over again, and he quickly occupied himself with turning his eyes to the table that Isaac didn't occupy, the one practically overflowing with books, scrolls and gigantesque maps and sea-charts. He didn't risk looking back at Felix since his cheeks still felt warmer than normal, but started to walk over to the big table by himself. Had his mind not been spinning with thoughts of _why did I think __that__? _and _please don't let him realize I'm blushing, _he would've been interested in the things on the table since he was curious by nature, but now they only served as a well-needed distraction.

He heard Felix follow him and stop just behind him and a little to the right. Piers kept his eyes on the old scrolls, and despite his discomfort, he let his fingers carefully trace the lines of a map that seemed to be at least a few hundred years old. Some of the lines were faded and it smelled faintly of leather and ink, since someone had been halfway through restoring the map to its former glory by re-tracing the palest shapes. It really was a piece of art, more than a device to use to locate yourself.

"This is Kraden's working-area." Felix said, shifting to stand beside the marine biologist. "Can you read sea-charts?" The question was tentative, hushed and unsure, as if it took a great deal of effort just asking it, and Piers realized that it was actually the first _real_ question Felix had asked him all day.

It was honoring in some strange and nice way, and even if he kept his face partially hidden behind his curtain of turquoise hair when he bent down and inspected the map (that really _was_ a sea-chart) he smiled nonetheless. "I _could _read them, would be the more accurate way of saying it. It feels like it was years ago that I was back in France, on my uncle's boat and…" He trailed off and he felt his chest clench in long-since suppressed pain. This was not the time, and not the person he was supposed to reveal all his memories to.

"_Like he wants to know anyway. You're rambling and making a fool out of yourself."_

"Piers?" The uttering of his name startled the young Frenchman, and he straightened up to look at Felix. The man seemed concerned, but didn't make any movement to comfort the other.

"_It looks like he just doesn't know what to do."_

"I'm fine. Just memories and things I'm sure wouldn't interest you." Again, he smiled the smile he'd used so many times to cover up what he really felt. "You said this was Kraden's workplace? Am I going to meet him?"

Before the archaeologist had any chance to answer (his mouth had actually opened, but before any _sound _could come out) the door flew open and hit the wall with a loud bang. Through the opening wobbled a very old man (he would rival Karst with his age, Piers was sure of it), almost buried beneath bags and boxes full of papers, books, compasses, maps, antiques and so many more things that Piers couldn't even put a name to. Some of the things were new, still wrapped in shiny plastic to protect them, while the other stuff (the major part) were old. In fact, they looked like they were several centuries old, with compasses made out of brass and dark wood and charts and maps made out of parchment and papyrus. And underneath the small mountain of things was the old man, trying to keep the pile from falling over.

Acting on instinct (ingrained by his parents) Piers rushed over and caught half of the heap of stuff before it hit the ground, and he almost lost his breath when something big and hard in one of the bags thumped against his stomach with enough force to push the air out of his lungs. He had to force his knees from not buckling under the weight and wondered how in the world the man had been able to carry everything by himself.

"Thank you kindly, young man! You might've saved several historic pieces there, and my research to boot!" The elderly man said, happy even though he continued to stagger unsteadily, behind a box of what looked like brand new notebooks. The grey, almost white, beard the old man had was caught between two bags so that he had to tilt his head awkwardly, and from that angle all Piers could see was a pair of eyes, twinkling with depths of knowledge, and a pair of glasses that'd slipped down the old man's nose.

Suddenly the heavy burden Piers held in his arms was lifted, and he felt a pair of hands brush against his arm. He turned his head (as much as the bags in his face allowed anyway) and saw that Felix had grabbed half of the things he was carrying, and doing so with a little more grace than himself. The Frenchman was glad the view of his face was obstructed, since he felt his cheeks heat up again, this time from sheer embarrassment.

"_Why did he take mine? Does he think I'm weak or something? That old man is about to crumble below all those things!"_

"Felix, shouldn't you…" He began, feeling horrible for not reacting with thankfulness for the gesture, but the archaeologist had already turned his back and was walking back to the table.

Piers turned questioningly to the old man, and found that he too had begun to wobble towards the table. Now that the mans back was turned, the marine biologist could see that he was wearing some kind of long dark brown tunic that reached almost down to his knees. The strange thing was that it didn't look remotely funny, as it would've looked on anybody else, but instead only seemed to go perfectly with the old man/scholar-aura that seemed to surround the man. Piers glanced over at Isaac, who just peeked up from his papers and didn't look overly alarmed by the situation; the startlingly clear blue eyes almost looked bored.

"_Do these things happen often here…?"_

He was torn out from his musings as Felix took a few steps in his direction, the motion sending out the message of that if Piers needed help, Felix would help him. Piers almost shook his head at the subtle, yet rather charming-

"_You're doing it again!"_

This time, he just haughtily re-arranged the things he held to get a better look at where he was going (he didn't fancy the probability of tripping over his own feet) and started walking back to the table, where the old man hummed happily while unpacking whatever it was he'd had in the bags.

Piers put the things down on a clean, or the least cluttered, space available, and stepped back, a little confused but at the same time intrigued. For the moment, he'd forgotten all about his randomly running thoughts. When the old man began to unpack a gigantic world map, a piece made by thick leather and richly decorated, he couldn't help but lean closer.

The aged man seemed to notice his inclining interest and peered up at him behind his glasses. "Ah, I see this astonishing artifact caught your eye, hm?" The voice was warm and eager, but raspy of age. Piers couldn't help but smile and nod, getting the mixed feeling of the calmness that only comes with growing old and the experience of a long life, and the feeling of joy and enthusiasm that the old man seemed to radiate.

But when he was about to respond, he felt Felix move up behind him and, to his utter surprise, he felt cool fingers wrap around his left wrist. His breath (for some reason unknown to himself) stocked itself in his throat as the grip tightened ever so slightly, in a sign of warning, and Felix moved to stand to his left side.

His yellow eyes darted to Felix face and, not unpredictably, found it to be the very picture of calmness and seriousness, almost blank. It was like he didn't even recognize the fact that he was holding on to Piers wrist at all.

"Kraden, meet Piers Lemúrìan, our new marine biologist. We're a bit short on time, so we'll have to make the introduction brief." Felix said, not even glancing at said marine biologist (who was thankful for that, since he had no clue how his facial expression would be interpreted).

The elderly man didn't seem to notice however, and he clapped his hands together and made a pleased (and remarkably squeaky for his age) sound. "A Frenchman! How fascinating! Je m'apelle Kraden. Ca va, monsieur Piers?" He held out a calloused and wrinkly hand and Piers took it with a bit of hesitation. He remembered Jenna's warnings about this one. Apparently he could talk your ears of.

"Ca va bien, monsieur Kraden, merci. Et tu?" Piers answered. The old man's pronunciation had been good and it shocked him how easily he slipped back into his native language when spoken to. He felt the hold around his wrist tighten a tiny bit further and Felix made an almost inaudible and impatient noise in the back of his throat. Piers figured it was a sign to speed things up. "I hope none of your items got damaged?"

"Your English is superb! And no, my dear boy, everything seems to be in pristine condition." Kraden answered, and Piers was once again astounded by the similarities between the old man and his landlady. But before he had the chance of politely excuse himself and follow Felix to wherever he was in such a hurry to go to, the old man continued to speak."Now, where did you say you came from, more specifically? Are you by any chance related to Hydros Lemúrìan perhaps? You bear some resemblance to him, if I may say so myself."

"_Grandfather? How…?"_

For a moment his mind swam with unwanted memories, but he forced them away again, and steadied his gaze on Kraden's face. The old man knew about his family, and then perhaps he'd know about his father too.

"_But I don't want to know! I want nothing to do with him; I've tried so hard _not_ to remember the bastard!" _His voice shrieked inside his own head, frightened and shocked. This was not something he'd expected. Anything but this.

The old man's voice sounded awfully far away by now, and it felt like his throat slowly became thinner, so narrow that his own breath sounded like heavy gasps and his heart pounded in his ears. He didn't want to know, he didn't want to remember, not now, not _ever_-

* * *

1. Je m'apelle Kraden. Ca va, monsieur Piers? - My name is Kraden. How are you, mister Piers?

2. Ca va bien, monsieur Kraden, merci. Et tu? - I'm fine, mister Kraden, thank you. How are you?

And I leave you with such a bad ending of this chapter that I almost feel ashamed. But seriously, it was as good as it could get in it's state of suck, so bare with it please. Reviews are always _always _appreciated, so please leave one if you feel like it. Thank you for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

My internet has been spazzing, but it's been temporarily fixed. A lot of my energy has been drained since I moved from Sweden to Norway this week, and only now have I settled in with my roomie in our err... dorm-like apartment.

But alas, fear not dear readers! This story is still on the go, and with the love I have for it, it will without doubt continue! Even from Norway...

**CaptainElli: **Oh, you flatter me! I know that feeling of getting email and wishing for a specific story, and to know that you wait for my updates makes me want to melt in a puddle of goo. And no, nothing can quite match Felix/Piers. That's why I hurried and wrote more! Thank you very much for your review!

**bluberrybubblegum: **My gosh, I didn't mean to make you feel preassured to review... I feel like a jerk now. My first reaction to your review: ...for real? That long review is for _me? _The second was: I totally love this person for writing reviews on _all _chapters even though he/she didn't need to. So, now I will answer your reviews for all the chapters in one go! First chap: Alex. Alex is badass, really fun and challenging to write. I'm glad that you like him the way I wrote, since I wasn't sure at first what people would think. There will be more of Mr. Mercury, I promise. I'm also happy that you liked Piers, since I too am totally engrossed in his character. He's a little mystery to write, since most of the time, he writes himself... weird.

Second chap: Booyah! Felix character was hard to get down, since it's not really realistic for a grown man to say "...", but I try to keep him as quiet and almost too formal as I can imagine that he is. And when Felix gets his interest up and zoned in, he's not really interested in anything else, alas he doesn't really care about Alex when Piers is in the room.

Third chap: Alex is clearly a kind of scary weirdo with a hidden agenda. And a person with problems regarding personal space. He will probably deserve a beating once I'm done with this story. Just saying. And Menardi is pretty out of character I guess, but I try to keep her a fun yet dangerous and strong person, and I'm happy that you liked her piece of conversation. Jenna, for me, is a hard and rather odd character to write, since I want to make her energetic and blunt, but not "over the top" to the point that she's just obnoxious. But you liked her, and I will try to do my best to keep her that way!

Fourth chap: I understand that it could get a bit confusing with the changes of P.O.V but I hope it wasn't too weird. Normally, I don't think Piers is easily scared, but when he's that nervous and faced with a totally unknown situation, he's a bit jittery I guess. And, yes. Felix does try to make up for it in the ways he can.

Fifth chap: Pwhew! At the last one! And you're too kind, and you made me blush and make a squeaky sound of sheer joy and embarrasment. I will continue, there's no way I'm quitting this because I've grown too fond of it to end up in the gutter. And your reviews just spur me on! The twins will be seen a little later, but you're on to the secret already. I'm quite excited to write them to be honest. The mystery that surrounds Piers family will be solved, but (and this might sound absurd) it might play the main plot in the _sequel _I'm planning for this story. Weird huh? It's not decided yet, but it's a posibility. The conversations with Felix and Isaac were a blast to come up with, since they're a bit witty and sarcastic around eachother. I liked those lines as well, to tell the truth.

Thank you so very very much for that long and lovely review! I hope you'll continue to read the story and enjoy this chapter!

**Ammy14k: **Thank you for the review! I'm so happy that you liked the story so far, and I'm overjoyed that you like my style! I try to develop and hone it as much as I can, and spelling errors always tick me off so I try to make my English as correct as I can (and the French but... yeah, the French is shaky ground for me). Yet again, thanks and I hope you'll like the new chapter!

* * *

Not _ever_-

"Piers?" Felix deep voice broke through his trance-like state, and he realized that the hand around his wrist had moved up to grab his upper arm to, gently but urgently, turn him towards Felix. Brown eyes locked with yellow ones, and Piers realized that he was holding his breath as the archaeologist furrowed his brow in concern.

"_Get yourself together. You're causing a scene, and you're making yourself look utterly idiotic."_

So he just shrugged the hand off and returned his attention to Kraden, feeling uncomfortably embarrassed by the fact that Felix still remained close by his side. He cleared his throat to make himself from stuttering. "Y-yes, I am his grandson… but how-?" It was lucky that Felix impatiently coughed, a noise as if to politely end the conversation, since Piers couldn't make himself continue.

"We need to get going. We still have some things to discuss." And with that, the archaeologist renewed his hold of Piers arm, and practically dragged Piers towards the exit.

The only thing he registered before getting pulled out the door was Isaacs's now curious eyes, glancing up at the scene, Kraden's frown and his wave goodbye at their departure. He managed to flick his wrist in something he hoped looked like an apologetic wave back, before the door closed and they were no longer in his line of sight.

"_He __didn't even seem that surprised that I'm being forcefully dragged-"_

Well, okay, that was a lie. Piers was actually surprised at how _gentle _Felix was. It unnerved him, and at the same time made him strangely…

"_I don't know what it makes me feel. And it shouldn't matter!"_

In his stupor, Piers didn't even realize he was ushered into a new room, a room that was warmer and not as stunningly bright as the other. He did however notice when he was carefully pushed down into a chair, as he also noticed that Felix hovered before him. One of the archaeologist's eyebrows was furrowed, and the eyes radiated worry, but other than that, he didn't do anything.

"_He looks like he's restraining himself… why is he acting like I'm made out of glass?"_

Piers smiled, forced the curve to appear on his lips, and moved to rise again. "Was it something you wanted to show me? Or am I distracting you from work? If you're short of time, maybe I should-" He was pushed back into the chair, and he let himself be pushed without resisting at all. He was far too surprised to do anything anyway.

"_He's _strong! _He doesn't really look like it, but…" _And indeed, the grip on his arms was not causing him any pain, but it was relentless nonetheless. Piers shifted uncomfortably, Felix keeping him in the chair with his hands on Piers forearms, and tried not to think about the close proximity. This didn't feel anything like when Alex kept bugging him (that was just mildly irritating) but Felix was…

"_Dangerous. Just think about what he'd do to you if he knew what you were after."_

Felix seemed to notice the marine biologist's discomfort, and sighted. "Sit." He seemed to reconsider his choice of words, but instead of rephrasing (as Piers thought he would) he just added an earnest: "Please."

Piers would've been offended if the order had been uttered by anyone else, he was not a _dog_ for crying out loud, but Felix had spoken it with something akin to a mix of anxiousness and seriousness. For some reason, he felt compelled to obey just for the sake of making that underlying worry in Felix voice go away.

So he just nodded. "If you say so." He tried not to fidget when brown eyes bore into his, and he unconsciously began to pull at his lower lip with his teeth. "But uhm… could you please let go of me?"

It would've been amusing in any other situation, seeing Felix eyes widen with the realization that he still held the young Frenchman in the chair, and then reeled back as if he was suddenly becoming aware of how close they'd been. But right now Piers didn't find it very funny, as Felix averted his eyes to a spot somewhere above Piers head, and roughly pulled a hand through his messy brown hair. "Sorry…" Felix muttered.

Piers didn't really know what to make of this situation, so he decided to at least ease Felix worries a bit. "It's alright. Was there anything you wanted to talk to me about?" An idea struck him so hard that it almost caused him physical pain, and if it weren't for his promise to sit, he would've bolted up from the chair. "Are you reconsidering the contract? Please, whatever I did or said, I apologize-" Even though he thought that he'd be somewhat used to the cold, clawing feeling of pure panic by now, it still startled him when his stomach clamped together in discomfort. If Felix had decided to terminate the contract, he wouldn't be able to help the Marina Zoo… it would mean the end for everyone there.

Once again, he was interrupted by the archaeologist. "No. No, I-" Felix sighed heavily. "Are you feeling well?" He glanced up at Piers, eyes searching and silently demanding an answer.

"Yes, I'm fine… why do you ask?" Piers was taken aback by the question, and answered truthfully. He was fine. A bit shaken up, but perfectly fine. He frowned at the strange question, and felt panic morph into confusion.

Felix grunted, and took a step forward. "You suddenly looked ill when you were talking to Kraden." He raised an elegant eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "I merely wanted to make sure you weren't feeling under the weather."

Piers shook is head and shrugged his shoulders, while quickly working out an excuse for his earlier behaviour. "It was nothing, I'm just a little tired." He chuckled easily, trying to distract Felix from the subject. "You saved me from Kraden I suppose. Jenna told me about-"

"The topic was your family. Is there something I should know about?"

Piers froze in his seat. So Felix had noticed…

"_It's none of his business!"_

It really wasn't, and Piers didn't want to talk about it. He pulled some stray turquoise strands behind his ear, his movements felt sharp and barely controlled, and looked Felix straight in the eye. "Nothing is wrong, I can assure you." He was surprised at how hollow it sounded, how clipped and _final _his voice was, and he just hoped Felix would drop the subject.

He didn't. "You lie. Tell me."

This time, Piers felt cold, sudden anger coil in his stomach, and he gripped the armrests of the chair so hard that he thought he would get a handful of splinters soon. But it helped him restrain himself. "It's none of your business, Mr. Newvale. It won't interfere with my work, I can give you my word on it, and so I cannot see how you have the right to pry into my personal life. Please respect that." He seethed, barely containing his will to jump out of the chair and walk out the door, something so unlike him that it almost scared him. Had his mind not been occupied with memories and annoyance, he would've noticed how Felix flinched when Piers addressed him by his last name.

Family, for him, was a difficult topic. There was more than one reason for him to move to the States, and getting away (getting _out_) from his complicated situation with his relatives was one of them. And this was nothing he was willing to discuss with a man he only just had made an acquaintance with. It didn't matter who he was or how much money and power he had. It was _Piers _bussiness and his alone.

Felix seemed mildly surprised at his unexpected defensiveness; the eyes that were partially hidden behind russet bangs studied him with cold, analyzing curiosity. Eventually the archaeologist uncrossed his arms and bowed his head slightly. "I see. Then I apologize."

When the sincere words registered in Piers brain, he felt all the bitter anger fade away, leaving only tired acceptance. He'd been unfair and far too harsh; Felix hadn't known that what he was asking would cause Piers to remember something he'd rather left forgotten. He sighed and rose from the chair. "You don't have to apologize. Let's just pretend it never happened, and just… not bother with it, okay?" He tilted his head slightly, half-expecting Felix to withdraw the offer of a job regardless of what he said. He had been rude and certainly not as thankful as he should've been, and Piers, although fearing it, understood if he wasn't really wanted anymore.

Felix looked up. "We all have things we'd rather keep to ourselves. I'll think nothing of it."

The silence that followed was uncomfortable, tense and almost tangible in its intrusive demeanour, and Piers had never felt such unease in his whole life. For once, he didn't want to be the one to fix everything, instead he just wanted to leave and go home. But he couldn't, partially because if he didn't patch this slip-up up with Felix, chances were low on him ever getting to do what he was actually there to do. And because he knew that it'd kill his conscience if he just up and left things like this.

But he didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. This situation was so unlike anything else, the person in front of him so unlike any other, that he just wasn't sure of how to go about it.

So he forced the worn smile on his lips and faked a satisfied nod. "Well, if that was all, I'd better get going." He turned to leave, his every move hesitant, and made his way over to the door. With his hand poised on the handle, he half-turned to face Felix who still stood by the chair. "Goodbye Felix. Should I come back on Monday?" Today was Friday, so he'd have the whole weekend to kick himself stupid because of everything that'd occurred.

With his hands by his sides, Felix merely nodded.

"_Did you expect anything else?" _Piers berated himself. Maybe he had, and that irked him a little.

He turned again, the sinking feeling in his stomach making every motion he made feel like an effort, and opened the door.

"Wait!"

Piers turned quickly, surprised and shocked at Felix call, and let his hand slide off the doorknob. "Yes?" He hoped his voice didn't carry any of the emotions he felt bubbling up in his throat, because he didn't even know how to interpret them himself. Sudden embarrassment swallowed his stomach, but what that was for, he didn't know.

Felix looked almost as shocked as Piers felt at his own outburst, and took a moment to card his pale fingers through his hair. It looked like he steeled himself to do something, but when no move was made, Piers slowly turned to the door again.

"Eat dinner with me." The archaeologist blurted out, taking a step towards Piers. If he was nervous he didn't show it very much, but to Piers eyes his movements were less certain. Felix fixed his gaze on Piers face. "Tomorrow." He barked out, but then seemed to realize something, and added a polite: "Please."

"_He wants me to what?"_

Dumbstruck, that's what Piers was. Completely and utterly gobsmacked, witless and so caught of guard that the words that came tumbling out his mouth were: "Wha-? I-I'm sorry…?"

Felix made an impatient noise in his throat, a hand coming to rest lightly on his hip, and he looked away for a brief second. When he looked back at Piers (the young marine biologist had completely forgotten that he was actually on his way, and thus had frozen on the spot) his eyes were guarded, heavy with insecurities. "Will you have dinner with me and Jenna tomorrow? We still have things to discuss." The last sentence was added more like an afterthought, and it worried Piers that the archaeologists' voice had… mellowed out somehow. _Cooled _in a way that Piers found very unsettling.

Felix seemed to take the Frenchman's stunned silence as a rejection of the offer, and nodded sharply. "Never mind, I'll expect you on Monday instead." He turned, and Piers was unable to see the harsh, disappointed frown that tugged on the pale lips.

However, Piers _was _able to stare at the retreating back and he _was _able to know that what'd just transpired had been one of the most unusual things in his life. His brain decided to give him the information that, yes, Felix had asked if Piers wanted to eat dinner with him and Jenna, and yes, Piers had, in some utterly idiotic way, even managed to screw up a simple 'Yes, that'd be nice'. While his brain was busy feeding him this info, plus registering Felix movements back to the desk that stood placed in the far end of the room, his… his… well, his _something_ decided to make up for his mess.

"No." Piers said, and immediately regretted ever being born as Felix turned around to stare incredulously at him.

"Excuse me?" Felix slowly said, and Piers gulped as those eyes glinted dangerously, like black steel sharpened to perfection.

If Piers had figured out at least a little bit about the man in front of him (and he hoped he had), he would guess that Felix was currently assessing the situation in his head, and if Felix ever decided to be half-friendly to Piers ever again, the marine biologist knew he had to explain himself quickly. He automatically raised his hands in a gesture of peace and surrender, as Felix' face darkened. "I-I meant that we shouldn't wait until Monday." He lowered his hands again and offered a tentative smile as Felix eyed him with cautious curiosity. "I'd be happy to join you for dinner tomorrow. If it's alright with Jenna, of course…" And really, he _was _glad to have been asked, it meant a lot to him to have been asked to join Felix, seeing as the man obviously wasn't easily befriended.

"_Or are you just happy to spend more time with him because you feel something else than friendship?__ Attraction, perhaps?"_

As soon as the rogue thought registered, Piers choked on his breath and made an odd, gurgling noise in the back of his throat. _"Did I just think that?"_

To his immense annoyance, and at the same time immense relief, his mind was quiet and refused to answer the question. He wracked his brain for a clue to where it'd come from, but was left with nothing, except a blank, faraway look in his eyes which he didn't even knew he'd adopted in the first place.

Felix however, cleared his throat lightly and looked a bit disturbed. "Are you alright?"

"Wha-? Yes, yes I'm fine, something just caught in my throat." Piers laughed to cover up for his embarrassment, and took a backwards step towards the door that still stood ajar.

"Then I'll expect you to join me and my sister at noon, at _The Weyard. _Does that sound good?"

Piers managed to nod, even as his mind quickly shouted: _"That's one of the most expensive restaurants in town!" _and finally let himself do a half-turn and take a step out the door that'd been indecisively half-open-half-closed through the most part of the conversation. He raised his hand in a small wave and smiled, with ease this time. "I'll be there, and I'm looking forward to it."

"_But my wallet isn't."_

He uttered a 'Bye' as he left, and noticed that the room they'd been in weren't that far from the elevator, and simply continued along the hallway for a bit and eventually stopped in front of the mechanical doors. For some reason or another, his head felt blank. Numb almost. _Empty_, like a canvas that the artist had yet to decide what to do with, and it felt strange and tiring. Rolling his shoulders and rubbing at his face served as a temporary wake-up, but he supposed he was just too… _overwhelmed _to cope right now. He absently pressed the button to get the elevator up to meet him, but kept his eyes focused (or sort-of-staring but not really looking, depending on how precise you wanted to be) on the wall. It would be nice just to get home, take a shower and sleep for a while. Process everything in his own pace.

The elevator doors smoothly hissed open, and he automatically pressed the bottom floor button. The elevator music, which he hadn't noticed on his way up, was lulling and almost hypnotizing in its glorious blandness, and for a while he thought he'd fallen asleep with his eyes open. But as the little 'ding' announced his arrival at the bottom floor, he glared at himself in the mirror that hung on the elevator wall and rubbed at his face one last time to wake up, and it seemed to do the trick.

"_What on earth have I gotten into...?"_

No, really, he had little to no idea what he was supposed to do except...

"_Right, I promised I'd call."_

He fished out his cellphone from the jeans pocket and scrolled until he spotted Alex new number. Surprisingly (or maybe not that surprising after all) he found that it was already on his speed-dial, and he could only sigh and carefully manoeuvre himself towards the exit of the grand entrance hall as he held the phone to his ear and listened to the sounds of it trying to reach Alex.

[Yes?] Alex voice answered at the third ring and the phone's receiver made his voice sound mechanical and oddly tense.

"Hey, it's me." Piers said. "Is it a bad time for me to call?"

There was some shuffling and a door closed at Alex end of the wire. [No, it's perfectly fine. What have you gathered this far, my friend?]

The phone crackled as Piers walked out on the stairs and he took a deep breath of fresh, slightly salty, sea air. "Well... Felix isn't very talkative, but I've met his sister. She talks quite a bit more." He chuckled as he recalled the drive.

Alex snorted with contempt. [Jenna Newvale. We never got along very well. Anything _useful _to our situation, or have you just played around?] The last was said with a bit of mirth.

"Felix asked me to join them for dinner tomorrow, but no. I didn't really... find anything of use." The young Frenchman mumbled, feeling ashamed and yet a bit miffed at how Alex took the whole matter so lightly. "It's not like I'm used to con rich archaeologists." He muttered lowly.

[Dinner?] It sounded like Alex had choked on something. [Where?]

"At _The Weyard._" Piers sighed. "I don't even know if I could afford a glass of water there..."

[Considering the miracle you've accomplished, I think I could spare a few coins for your... leisure. You've won his trust, or some of it at least.] Alex seemed satisfied, but Piers made a grimace.

"_I don't want his trust if all I'm going to do is break it..."_

[That reminds me, a suite is booked for you at the _Royal Sanctum Inn_.]

"_What? _A hotel suite? A-Alex... why... I don't understand." Piers stuttered, feeling cold sweat break out on his back. That hotel was exclusively built for...well, the upper crust you could say. It was as exquisite as it was expensive. And it was _very _exquisite.

Alex chuckled in the speaker. [It's already paid for. I couldn't tell Felix that you were close to dirt poor, could I? As I said, I spiced your references up a notch and you'll pretend to be the person Felix wants until we've gotten closer to what _we_ want.]

Suddenly, Piers felt ill. "Alex...I don't think that's a good idea... I can't act like a rich person, I wouldn't have a clue!" He almost whined, but steadied himself in the last moment.

[Felix seems to think that you're trustworthy enough. And by the way, Mia is coming by tomorrow and I'd like you to bring her with you to the restaurant. I'm far too busy to give her a tour of the city, but perhaps you could do me that favour?]

"I... I'd have to ask Felix first I guess-"

Piers couldn't see Alex (though he _could _see a bit of the beach from where he stood) but he practically heard the annoyance in his voice. [He won't mind, I'm sure. She'll drop by the hotel by eleven tomorrow. Call me again after the dinner. Goodbye Piers.]

And with that, Alex hung up and left Piers staring at a quiet phone. _"I swear, sometimes I don't know if he's nice to me or just bullying me around..."_

A seagull's screech broke his reverie and he tucked the phone back in his pocket. Looking around, he realized that he didn't have a way to get _back _to the city, of which he could see the outlines of against the setting sun's orange and pinkish glow. He hadn't driven here by himself (he didn't even _own _a car), the limousine was nowhere to be seen, and hoping to find a bus-stop somewhere around here would only be in vain. So he stood, dumbstruck and alone, on the stairs of the big complex and merely stared at the skyline of the skyscrapers.

"_This was... unexpected."_

* * *

So there it is, the sixth chapter to this ever-developing story. It's such fun, and such agony, to come up with names for things and persons in this AU-universe, since I want the names to be familiar but still put in a new concept, but not dorky and ill-fitting.

Internet, like I said, thinks it's funny to randomly dissappear. That's why I'll try to update whenever it stays on for at least an hour or so. I feel so bad for the excuses, but I'll try my hardest not to keep you waiting for a very long period of time. I deeply appreciate your reviews and, in these days of excessive work-hours and Norweigan landlords (lazy bums), you keep my spirit up. Thank you for reading, and as always, I hope you liked it!


	7. Chapter 7

Huzzah! Internet is permanently fixed and I'm as happy as a fish in water again. Before I even get anywhere near the story, I must encourage you to visit GS_Yaoi, the forum on LiveJournal for everything Golden Sun-related (with yaoi, hence the name ya?). It's great, and it needs more peeps!

I'm pretty happy here in Norway, but my time is consumed by work (mostly). I thought I had a pretty good buffert with my chapters since I tend to write one chepter ahead. I was a little bit wrong. But I'll try harder to make the chapters come up in a steady pace. Thank you for putting up with my erratic updates, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything of the written parts below.

**Ammy14k:** I made you laugh! I succeeded in my quest then ;) And yeah, internet might be awesomely sucky sometimes, but now it's up again and I hope it stays running. I hope yours stays that way too. About updating soon... I guess I failed you, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. Thank you so much for reviewing!

**bluberrybubblegum: **Aww, you're so sweet and you make me blush! It makes me, as a writer, very happy to know that my style is liked that much so don't feel like an idiot! I always thought feelings were hard to get down and make realistic, but I try! I hope you didn't hurt yourself when you laughed ;) And yeah, smexy badass Alex is badass. But Piers likes him anyway (maybe not that great for him...) Haha, you don't like PiersxMia? Me neither to be honest, so do not worry! It'll get a bit caothic, everyone will be a bit confused and it'll be one hell of a party... but Felix and Piers won't get separated, I promise :) Thank you very much for the long review yet again!

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Too lost in thought, the young Frenchman didn't notice the door slide open behind him, and he paid no mind to the footsteps that walked closer. Not until he heard someone clear their throat, did he turn around.

"Felix?" And certainly, it was the archaeologist that stood a bit away from him. Apparently he took the 'do-not-scare-Piers-again' act very seriously.

The man inclined his head in a nod, walking closer. "You seem lost." The tone was flat, but the underlying inquiry was there.

Piers sighed and ran a hand through his long hair to hide his slight embarrassment. "I just realized that I actually have no idea of how to get home. I figure I just have to call a cab or something..."

Felix seemed to ponder on this for a minute, while he looked at his (very expensive) Rolex wristwatch. After a while, he looked at Piers. "I'll drive you." The simple statement left no room for argument, and while Piers might have had some sort of retaliation to the offer, Felix walked past him and turned left towards a door with a sign that said '_Garage' _before he could say something.

A bit stunned at first, it took Piers a few seconds to hurry after the man and caught up with Felix just as he pushed the door open and walked in. The garage was dark, no windows were present on the walls and so it was only illuminated by luminous tubes that emitted a faint white light and an obnoxious electrical _humming_ that threatened to eat its way into Piers brain and cause a mild migraine if he was forced to stay for too long. The air was acrid and smelled of gasoline and windscreen washing fluid, and even though the garage was well kept, the air was somehow a bit damp and chilly.

The archaeologist made his way past a few shiny cars, with brands such as _Jaguar, Mustang _and _Porsche, _and stopped at the side of a black, sleek car that had the windows tinted so that they almost looked like pieces of the exterior instead of being devices to look out through. The light from the tubes hanging from cables in the roof cast numerous reflections on the spotless body of the car and made it look... kind of _sneaky._ Presuming a vehicle could be anything of the kind.

"_I'm going to ride in the friggin' Batmobile."_

At Piers sudden, and thoroughly amused, fit of hysteric chuckles, Felix turned his head and raised his eyebrows. "Is something the matter?"

In his attempt to stifle his giggles, Piers bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head and managed to choke out a: "Nothing." and kept on biting his cheek when he walked around to get to the passenger side. As he reached for the handle on the car door, his heart skipped a beat as the door didn't open the way he thought it would (outwards, naturally) but instead it slid _upwards._

"_Dadadadadada...BATMAN!" _His overly tired mind happily chimed, and he couldn't hold it in any longer.

He practically collapsed into his seat (there were no backseat as far as he could see) in an overly tired, but unstoppable, laugh and could only gasp for air when his mind (that truly worked against him today) imagined them in those silly suits and serious faces. Tears welled up in his eyes, feeling them tickle his eyelashes, and he tried to calm himself by bringing up a hand to stifle his voice.

The car door on the driver's side closed and the marine biologist felt a hand, a hesitant and slightly calloused hand, come to rest on his shaking shoulder. "Are you… umm, alright?"

Piers turned to look at Felix, and while he tried to be polite and stop laughing straight in the man's face, the serious, yet concerned expression his face donned matched the imaginary Batman-face perfectly and he began choking on his own laughter again.

Wheezing for air, he eventually managed to control himself and felt the pleasant stomach-cramp you got from excessive laughing ebb away, he dried his eyes and buckled up.

"Piers?" Felix asked, and the tone made up for all the words he didn't vocalize.

"I'm sorry, it just… it's stupid, but for some reason I thought your car looked a bit like the Batmobile…" And the more he thought about what to say, the stupider the whole thing sounded, and he started to stutter. "And I-I... well, it was just a bit startling and it felt like we were Batman and Robin for a while..." He heard his voice fade out in awkwardness, and he started to pluck with his loose hair. "It wasn't that funny, now that I think about it..." He murmured, almost apologizing until he realised that Felix wasn't questioning him.

Felix sat quiet for a while, impossible to read and face completely immobile, but then something astonishing happened. The corners of his mouth started to twitch, and before Piers knew it, he was... _chuckling_. Quietly and controlled, but he was... at least _almost _laughing, and that was a miracle in itself in Piers eyes, while buckling his own belt. The dark brown eyes held a controlled but amused gleam as he started the car, and when he stopped his brief display of humour, he turned to look at a very shocked Frenchman.

"I never thought about my car like that." Felix said as he drove out from the garage. He smirked and added: "You're right though."

They drove in silence, mostly because Piers was too far gone to even think straight (he couldn't think in curves, loops or zig-zag either), too tired, too overwhelmed, too honoured, too _everything_ and yet too _nothing _to get some kind of conversation going. After a few kilometres, he remembered his call to Alex, and the uneasy feeling gently slid into place in his stomach again, like a cold, moist blanket wrapping itself around him. It was scary how he was getting used to it like that.

The discomfort must've shown in his face, because Felix harkled and glanced over to his seat. "Is something bothering you?"

"_He really does pick up on everything, doesn't he?"_

And, after all the supposed miracles that he'd somehow achieved today, Piers decided to push his luck to the limit. "Ah, well... I know I'm not very polite when asking this of you, but it's pretty important." He waited untill he saw Felix nod. "I wondered if I could bring someone with me to the restaurant tomorrow."

Yet again he waited for a response, but was met with silence as Felix concentrated on the road in front of them. Piers took the lack of recognition as a sign to continue. "Her name is Mia Mercury, and she-"

The car lurched to the side as Felix sharply spun in his seat to look at Piers. "_Who?_"

The first reaction Piers had was to slowly inch away from the obviously agitated archaeologist, but he realized that the car door was in his way. So he steeled himself (because hell, he'd acted way more like a coward today than he was comfortable with) and cleared his throat. "Mia Mercury, Alex half-sister. Do you know her?"

Felix stiffly turned to look at the road again. "We got introduced once, when I and Alex were... on better terms." His voice wavered here, and Piers found the emotional strain in the tone a bit disturbing.

"_Wonder if he feels bad for gaining money from Alex through trickery."_

Piers also shifted to look out the front window and mentally sighed. That wasn't what he was supposed to think. Instead he should chose to ignore whatever he felt about Felix and Alex grudge and concentrated on the task at hand. "It would mean a lot to me if she could come, Felix. But if you would feel uncomfortable in her presence-"

"Is she your girlfriend?" Felix cut him off with the blunt question, without even looking at the marine biologist.

Piers spluttered, so caught off guard that he only could shake his head violently. "No, no! Nothing like that." He cast a sideways glance at the seemingly expressionless face of the man beside him and-

"_Was that relief I saw?"_

-smiled reassuringly. "She's just visiting for a few days, and Alex asked me if I could show her around tomorrow. But like I said, if you'd feel awkward around her, I'd understand if you said no."

Felix looked thoughtful for a short while, but then glanced over at Piers. "No. It's fine. I'm sure Jenna will be glad to have someone to talk to."

"_So... me and you don't count as people to talk to?"_

"Thank you." Piers said, and then the car lapsed into a comfortable silence.

The humming of the engine was almost non-existent, and the silent buzz from the outside traffic was so hypnotic that when Felix asked his next question, Piers was sure he had been sleeping for a while.

"Where should I drop you off?"

At first, the marine biologist was about to tell Felix to go to the apartment complex in the outskirts of the big city, but when the first syllable landed on his tongue it suddenly disappeared. What came out was: "The _Royal Sanctum Inn_."

Dark eyebrows rose for a second. "So you managed to get a suite?"

Piers nodded, somewhat confused. "Yes, I- or well, Alex did." He tried to stay as close to the truth as possible. "What about it?"

"I thought it was fully booked. I guess Alex pulled some strings." He didn't sound too enthusiastic about it.

"Why should it be full? I mean, it's a nice hotel but-"

At this, Felix glanced over at him, one eyebrow arched. "The announcement." He decided to continue when Piers merely shook his head in a vague gesture of not understanding. "The ceremony and the announcement that will reveal whether it is Atlantis we've found or not will be held in two weeks. Considering the social network that the Anemos twins have..." He paused to sigh heavily. "People have started to gather."

"Oh." Was all Piers could say. "You don't sound like you're looking forward to it?"

Felix answer had to wait, as he made a turn into the central part of the big city. Here, traffic was slow-moving and tightly packed with everything from bikers to cabs and minivans, and Piers found himself thinking that to live here would probably increase your risk of getting hit by a car by at least 75%.

Once at a stoplight, Felix found his reverie to answer. "I'm not. I don't find big social events very... enjoyable."

And Piers figured that he'd already known that, since the first time they'd met. It was just something about Felix that was... people-repellant. Not in a rude way, but merely a thing about keeping ones distance if you didn't have anything intelligable or important to say. To Piers, it was amazing how this man could be so famous yet so unintersted in the fame itself, but it also made Piers a bit humbled and he respected it greatly.

They didn't speak any more until Felix drove up to the curb by the entrance to the hotel. A young man in a dark red uniform immediately ran up to the car, asking politely if he should park it for them. While Felix merely shook his head, Piers found himself thanking the boy and gently telling the youth that it wouldn't be necessary.

Said boy seemed surprised at Piers manners and insisted on opening the door for him, an offer which the Frenchman didn't have the heart to refuse.

Stepping out of the-

"_Batmobile"_

-car, Piers tried to hide his nervousity and slight awe at the mere sight of the building that was to be his home for a little while. He heard the second car door close, and Felix walked up beside him. A little bit confused, the marine biologist glanced at him. "You shouldn't leave your car like that, you know."

"I'm not." Felix said. "I just... wanted to say goodbye properly."

So Piers waited a moment, unsure of what Felix meant with 'saying goodbye properly', before taking a few steps forward just to see what Felix would do. Said man matched his steps, but before they came to the stairs that led up to the entrance, he stopped and cleared his throat.

"Tomorrow then, at _The Weyard_." The archaeologist said, and decided to glare a little at the boy holding up the door for them both, before looking Piers straight in the eye. "It was a pleasure meeting you." Then he extended his hand expectantly.

And this time Piers didn't make himself look stupid, he knew what to do and he did it happily. The marine biologist's tanned hand locked with the archaeologist's pale one and they shook hands like two old business partners. "It was really nice to meet you to, Felix. We'll be at the restaurant at 12.30, if that's okay?"

Felix nodded, making a positive noise in his throat, and then he was off and Piers was left alone staring at his back as he re-entered the car and drove off. Piers caught the shy smile on his lips before it could break out into a silly grin, and absently wondered what was wrong with him today. The logic department in his brain gave him the answer that he was probably just tired. He believed that answer to be true (clung to it, because the other possible answers were too bewildering and impossible) and continued to walk into the grand reception of the hotel.

It was softly lit, and it was _exclusive _in a subtle yet noticeable way. He felt nervous by the very thought of touching something, for the fear of breaking it and having to pay for it as a result. Walking up to the desk, where a young woman sat, Piers managed to bring forth a small smile and politely asked for his keys. He took momentary pride in managing not to stutter in nervousness.

"Oh- ah, yes of course!" The woman's cheeks were dusted by a light rosy pink, as if she was embarrassed to be caught day-dreaming, and she turned to fetch the electronic card. When she turned back, she was smiling shyly and she tucked her long brown hair behind her ear. "I'll need your name signed, sir. Hotel's policy and all, I'm sure you understand." She glanced over at the elevator doors, only for a brief second, before giving Piers a pencil and a paper.

Piers smiled back, albeit a bit confused by her actions, and signed his name on the bottom of the banquette he'd been given. He thanked her just as politely as before and, confidence jumping up a notch as she nodded and seemed to think that he was a genuine guest. Studying the electronic key, he saw his room-number and as the doors to the elevator breathily _whooshed _open with a puff of air, he absently walked in. Looking to his left, the buttons were numbered and he realised that he had no clue of which floor his room was on. Pulling his lower lip between his teeth, he shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"Sir? Your room-number please?" A young man spoke up, extending his hand questioningly. He was dressed like the youth that'd previously asked him and Felix if he should park the car for them, and Piers assumed that he was a piccolo of some kind.

He smiled at the piccolo, who arched an eyebrow at the strange man in front of him, and then handed over the electronic key. A smile then lit up the young mans face, and he pressed a button somewhere in the middle. "You must be Mr. Lemúrìan, yes?" He asked merrily.

"Uh, yes. How did you know?" Piers asked, genuinely surprised but at the same time very at ease with the youths rather relaxed atmosphere. It was nice to talk normally with someone roughly his own age.

"Oh, Kushinada has been fussing over your accommodations and making sure everything was in place. You have the right room-number, so I just assumed it was you." The brown-haired young man said, with that secret smile that Piers knew mean that Kushinada wasn't just any other girl in the piccolo's opinion.

The name jogged something in his memory, and he suddenly realized that he knew who Kushinada was. "She's the girl in the reception, isn't she?" Her name-tag had spelled out something he hadn't been sure how to pronounce, but when the name fell from the youth's lips, he recognized it.

The boy nodded. "Yeah, she's co-ordinating everyone's rooms, but sometimes she takes on the booking too." He trailed off, smiling in the kind of embarrassed way one does when they realize that the topic they've ranted on about is something the other is completely uninterested about. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lemúrìan. That's probably not very interesting to you."

Piers shook his head with a laugh. "Why does everyone insist on calling _Mr. Lemúrìan_ today? Call me Piers, and I honestly feel like a normal conversation like this is just what I need."

Apparently relived, the young man laughed too, and then shrugged good-naturedly. "If you say so. I'm Susa, by the way. And I honestly feel like you're going to become my favourite guest in this hotel, since you're neither an uptight prick nor a narcissistic ass." The words, said with humoristic sarcasm and sincerity, caused Susa to slap a hand over his mouth as if wanting to force the sentence back again.

Piers just laughed harder, until he wheezed for air.

Susa grinned. "Don't tell anyone that I said that, please?"

"Of course not." The marine biologist answered truthfully, returning the boyish grin with a smile of his own.

The elevator stopped then, the doors slid open soundlessly and Piers stepped out into a hallway that was just as subtly but tangibly deluxe as the grand hall downstairs. The boy stepped out after him, much to the blue haired man's surprise. "Is there a problem?" He asked.

The young man shook his head. "I am to accompany you to- well, not really but Kushinada said I should- to your room. Besides, you forgot your key." He held out Piers card and gave it to the young Frenchman again.

"Ah. Thank you." Piers accepted the card, and carefully pocketed it so not to forget it again. "By all means, lead the way." He gestured down the hallway because, really, he didn't have the slightest clue on where his room was supposed to be.

Susa trotted off to the right, Piers walking up to his side, and they continued to the far end. There the piccolo stopped and motioned to a scanner by the door, and Piers experimentally swiped it with his key (glancing at Susa, in hopes that he did it right). It beeped, obviously satisfied with the legality of Piers card and the door clicked, signalling that it was now unlocked.

Before Piers had the chance, Susa had gripped the doorknob and he bowed his head slightly. "Allow me. This, Mr. Piers Lemúrìan, will be your home here." And he gracefully pushed the door open, proving that despite his boyish and slightly rebellious personality he could obviously be just as well behaved as the hotel demanded their staff to be.

Stepping directly into what Piers assumed was the lounge area, his mind went from: _"Heaven?" _to _"Mine?"_

As he hesitantly walked into the room, which was bathed in the soft glow of a setting sun, and took every new sight in, he knew that his life was going to be a hell of a lot more complicated from now on, but also a hell of a lot more comfortable.

The first thing you saw when walking through the door was the city below them, because the opposite wall was made out of window-glass. In a way, Piers thought, it was much like a living painting. In the morning he would be able to get a perfect view over the city as the sun rose, at daytime the room would either be brightly lit by the sun or maybe more mellow lighted if rain or clouds would appear in the sky. At night, the lights of the city would be spectacular and now... now when the sun set, bleeding red, orange and golden over the horizon, it was staggeringly beautiful.

In the middle of the spacey room was a group of couches and comfortable-looking chairs and a round table in a material that looked almost like metal, but when Piers hesitantly walked closer he realized that it was actually some kind of pearly white rock. The whole set of furniture was set in a shallowly lowered part of the floor, the shape of the 'hole' circular and complimenting the table, and thus it didn't get in the way of the stunning view.

Looking to his right, he realized that the big room was meant to serve both as a kitchen and a relaxing area, and he turned to slowly walk up to the bar-table that modestly separated the kitchen area from the rest of the room.

"Everything in the fridge and the bar is at your disposal. It's included in the room." Susa spoke up while Piers took a look around. "Breakfast will be delivered to your room tomorrow morning."

"You're kidding with me..." Piers murmured as he completely missed Susa's comment, when he spotted something through the open door on the left side of the room.

Forgetting everything else, he walked over to the open door and entered a new room that was almost just as big as the previous one. This was the bedroom apparently, a king-sized bed dominating the space with an enormous amount of fabric and cushions laid upon it, while a smaller kind of couch stood a bit away with a big flat-screen television hung on the opposite wall. It was indeed a luxurious room, and the interior was extraordinaire and tastefully posh, but despite those things, they weren't what'd caught Piers fancy.

It was the huge aquarium, the one that almost covered the whole wall in front of the bed, that'd attracted his eyes. And when his eyes finally landed on the glass-tank of water, they couldn't look away. It was simply...

"Beautiful..." Piers whispered, feeling the breathy word slip over his lips before he had the chance to stop it.

To top it off, it wasn't even a sweet-water aquarium, but instead he quickly recognized some spicies of fish and the telltale corals as strictly salt-water living beings. Not that it would've displeased him if it had been sweet-water species, but to have a salt-water aquarium mean so much more work but if you kept it up and took care of it, it paid off big time.

And apparently someone in the hotel knew how to care for the big aquarium properly, because it was in pristine condition. Piers, as the well-educated man he was, noted the variety of fish and that they all had their proper habitual zones as well as the thriving corals having their fair share of space.

He was so engrossed in the sight, that he didn't even hear Susa walk up beside him.

"You like it?" The boy asked, smirking at the young Frenchman's silent nod. "Kushinada will be happy to hear that. She made them clean and polish the darn thing until it was sparkling, when she heard that you'd studied to become a marine biologist."

"They did an amazing job." Piers mumbled his response as he walked around the room, sneaking a peek at the aquarium every so often.

Another door in the bedroom led to the en-suit bathroom, which was as fancy as the rest of the small apartment and, true to his curious nature, Piers was quick to take a look inside. Walking back to Susa who dutifully waited by the bed, Piers couldn't really believe that his life was real anymore. He fully expected to thank Susa for his exceptional service, go to sleep and then wake up in his own run-down apartment in the morning.

But there was something by the brown-haired boy's feet that made it all seem so much more real.

"Are those my... bags?" The young Frenchman faltered in his steps as he recognized his own grey duffle bag.

Susa looked down at the items and shrugged. "They were delivered by a Mr. Mercury, who explicitly told us to put them in your room without delay or opening them." The boy frowned thoughtfully as he seemed to think back to the event. "He was rather strict about the 'do-not-open' part, but he's got quite the name in this city so... well, the hotel management probably thought it would be okay. Otherwise we check bags that come delivered like that, just in case you know?"

"Yes, I understand." Piers nodded. "Thank you so much for your help, I really-" He then realized something he should've been aware of from the beginning. "Merde! I don't have anything to tip you with!" He patted his pockets in a desperate attempt to find some coins, but came up with nothing. "I'm so sorry, I-"

"Chill out, it's fine!" Susa laughed at the horror-struck and slightly embarrassed man in front of him, and waved off his attempts to apologize. "Really, don't panic. It was actually kind of fun to talk to you, so it's okay. Just don't make it a habit, yeah?" He grinned impishly and threw the sheepish marine biologist a wink, before turning to leave. "I need to get going, otherwise Kushinada will worry that something went wrong."

Piers relaxed, something the simple and openly friendly attitude of the other seemed to make him do, and let out an amused scoff at the playful demand not to forget next time. "I'll remember, I promise." His smile grew softer as the young man mentioned the girl in the reception, the tone in his voice changing unintentionally and (Piers could bet his life on that Susa didn't know this) the small, fond smile that once again played in the corner of his lips. "Please say thank you from me. The room is more than I could ever hope for, and she's done an amazing job with the aquarium." Piers said sincerely.

"Will do. Goodbye Mr. Piers Lemurian." And with that, Susa walked out the door and closed it carefully behind him, leaving Piers alone in the suite.

Glancing at his bags, Piers absently wondered whether he should check what in the world Alex had packed for him or if he should continue his exploration of his new accommodation. Curiosity, mixed with unbridled childish joy and excitement of this new and wonderful place began to bubble up in his chest and up to his throat, but when he took the first steps toward his living room, his eyes fell on the bed and his world came crashing down into one last sane and logic thought.

"_Sleep."_

And yes, he thought, that'd be nice. More than nice, actually. Almost like watching himself from a distance even thought he was there, he began to undress himself and, clad only in his boxers, he flung the heavy bedspread off the bed (and it landed on top of his bags, but whatever, they could wait) and unceremoniously crawled under the covers.

"_Even the friggin' sheets are luxurious..."_

Made in silk, they felt comfortably cool against his skin and he figured that he could get used to living like this. Not even when his mind stumbled over the mental image of Felix did his stomach clench as it had before, instead it just breezed by.

Had Piers been more coherent, he would've wondered why his last thought and last picture in his head before he fell asleep was Felix Newvale.

Had he also been able to see himself only three seconds _after _he fell asleep, he would've wondered what that, admittedly slightly embarrassing, silly smile was doing on his face.

But he was neither coherent nor able to watch himself smile, and so his unconscious body only flung an arm around a bunch of pillows and hugged them close as he slept soundlessly through the night, with the dim glow of the aquarium casting intricate patterns all over the ceiling.

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Merde! - Shit!

The fuck? Susa and Kushinada appeared all of a sudden! They weren't even meant to be _in _this story... shit. But still, they're pretty minor, and I find it too funny to have all characters in Golden Sun to act a part in my story as well. I hope it won't bother anyone. Feel free to review if you like, even just a word is nice. I will now go and listen to MCR's new single... damn it's addicting...

Thank you a bunch for reading, and warm hugs to you all.


	8. Chapter 8

Whoa, hi all you people! For starters, let me tell you that THIS CHAPTER KILLED ME! I'm not a very experienced smut-writer, I'm not even good at writing _kissing or hugging _so... yeah, fuck me to next Sunday, but I can't seem to get it really right. So this chap made me want to kill something small and furry, but I re-wrote and re-wrote it again and this was my best result. I hope it'll... iunno, please someone at least. Even it's pretty short for my standards.

Thank you, all of you, who put me on your alert and favourites lists! It means a lot to me!

**Ammy14k: **Thank you for reviewing! I must confess that I wasn't really clear-minded when I wrote about Felix car and it's similarities to Batman's car... so when I re-read it, I kinda did a WTF? face and thought about removing it but... I kind of liked it and kept it in XD glad that you liked it too. Yea, I'm in Norway now... moved here from Sweden a while ago, it's actually quite nice. I hope your internet keeps up and that you get better from your illness! Thank you again!

**bluberrybubblegum: **Thanks a bunch for reviewing! Yay, you liked Susa and Kushinada! To be honest, I haven't read much fanfics about them and I didn't really pay them that much attention in the game but... they're kinda funny now. I hope they can stay at least a little bit in character. And yup... Piers really should try to figure out why something or _someone _like that was the last thing he thought about. But the poor boy was tired so, I hope you can forgive him. He'll figure it out eventually. Thank you yet again!

**CaptainElli: **Kyaaah! This probably took a bit too long to update again! I'm so sorry! But thank you for reiewing even if I'm such a lazy bastard to a writer! And stop it, I'm frikking blushing again, you dirty flattering person! I hope this chapter will be worth the wait again... though I'm kind of concerned it won't. Thanks for reviewing once again!

**Disclaimer:** Once, there was a time that I owned Golden Sun. That time is not now.

_(Warning: This chapter might be contain a bit... light smut kinda? Groping and stuff. Don't like, don't read. If you think I should change to M rating, please say so and I will.)_

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He was strangely warm all over, but pleasantly so, and he felt completely and utterly at ease. He wasn't sure what it was he was doing, if he was standing upright, lying down or sitting, but it mattered little. It _felt_ like he was floating, maybe standing, in mid-air, and when he thought about it (which he only did briefly, because it _didn't matter_), he didn't even know what he was looking at. Maybe it was light, maybe it was dark, but he honestly couldn't say. It was foggy, in a way. Diffuse and melted, but nice and calming.

The one thing he _was _very much aware of was the presence behind him, a man who stood only a hair's breadth away from him, and he felt hot breaths tickle his ear. How he knew it was a man and not a woman was beyond him, since he hadn't turned around even once, much less seen the persons face.

But he _knew_ somehow.

The person behind him hummed, a deep melodious sound that resounded from the back of his throat, and Piers felt the vibrations in his chest. A pair of arms slowly encircled his waist, and he did nothing to stop them since-

"_This is what you want."_

-he didn't know what to do except stand still. He felt a nose nuzzle his neck and a pair of slightly chapped lips nip lightly just below his ear, and he felt a kind of tingling sensation where the person touched him. He was still warm, so very comfortable and relaxed, and he heard himself breathe out a silent moan as the exploring mouth gently bit down at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Involuntarily, his head dipped backwards and he inhaled sharply as the hands (slightly calloused, a _man's _hands) lazily begun to unbutton his shirt. Something strange and utterly wonderful twisted in his gut, and he closed his eyes as he felt the man's breath ghost over his cheek.

This was wrong. This was a _man…_ doing _what_ exactly?

"_Pleasuring you. Making you feel unbelievingly good, and making you _want _it."_

His own hands hung limply by his side, almost like he'd forgotten how to move them, as the foreign mouth trailed feathery soft butterfly-kisses down the side of his neck, briefly stopping as a hand moved up to pull away the shirt's neckline to leave the tanned shoulders bare, and then continued to where his right arm and his collarbone connected. Piers shivered as the hands finally had his shirt open and his chest was left bare.

This was wrong. "P-please, you have to…uuunhh!" His voice betrayed him, morphing into a shuddering sigh, as the deft hands traced quick and intricate patterns across his torso. He felt his face redden in something akin to arousal and shame. This was so very wrong. "Stop, pleaaahh-please… st-stop." He groaned in pleasure as fingers flitted over a hardening nipple, at the same time as teeth pulled lightly on his ear. His stomach did that weird flip-flop thing again, clouding his mind until he felt a smirk against his neck.

"You're beautiful…" The voice whispered seductively in his ear, and Piers knew that if he'd wanted to, he could just turn his head and see the face of the person who did this to him. But he didn't (he couldn't), because he wasn't sure if he really _did _want to know.

The mouth sucked on the soft skin just below his jaw and, to his embarrassment, his head lolled to the side, coming to rest on the man's shoulder, to grant the presence better access. It was intoxicating; everywhere the others hands or mouth made contact with his skin, it felt like tiny sparks of electricity shot up his veins and nerves. It was disgustingly addictive and still _it was wrong_.

"_If it's so wrong, why does it feel so good? If it's so wrong, why do you want it?"_

"Why is it wrong?" The voice murmured, voicing Piers thoughts, and a hand came up to rest a second on Piers shoulder. The fingers then ran up his neck, the touch light enough to give Piers goose-bumps, and gently came to a halt on his slightly parted lips. "Why should I stop?"

If he could've moved at that moment, Piers would've squirmed under the intense sensations, but instead he only moaned breathily and let his tongue dart out to wet his dry lips and, not intentionally (or was it?), he brushed his tongue over the man's fingertips. "You're... you're a man. Ah-and so am I..."

The deep chuckle that emanated from the presence behind him shook them both, and the hand that'd lingered on Piers lips trailed down his throat again and joined the other hand in its smooth circles on the marine biologist's lean, but muscular, chest. Hot puffs of air washed over his ear again as the presence leaned closer, pressed up against Piers back and gently pried Piers legs apart with its knee. "Does that matter to you?" The enquiry was soft, sincerely concerned, and also strangely hopeful.

The question registered in Piers mind, but before he could think of a satisfying, logical answer, a thumb roughly brushed over a sensitive nipple and he let out a strangled gasp and arched into the touch. Again, that wonderful, strange, _wicked _feeling in his stomach made his toes curl, and he felt his face heat up (and was surprised at how much blood that still was left in errr... the higher altitudes of his body).

"_He's right. Does it, in all honesty, matter at all?"_

Did it? Sharp teeth bit down, harder this time, and sent a mindboggling sensation of pleasure mixed with pain into his already muddy brain, and he quickly concluded that no, no it didn't matter. He groaned as the presence moved ever so slightly away, as if it'd taken his brief silence as a refusal, and he leaned back, trying to keep the pleasant heat that radiated from the other. "No... no, it doesn't..." He didn't think his gasped answer was heard at first, but then the lips attached themselves to his neck with renewed vigour, eliciting yet another loud moan from his voice-box. He felt himself grow increasingly hard, but couldn't do anything to neither prevent it nor take care of it, as his hands were completely immovable.

Suddenly, a thumb and a forefinger playfully pinched his nipple, and he cried out in surprise and pleasure, and then shuddered as it felt like carbonic acid bubbled under his skin at the very brush of the lips against his shoulder. The sounds that spilled from his mouth no longer embarrassed him, he was too far gone to even care about anything else than the intense waves of dizzying sensations that rolled over him whenever the hands or the mouth connected with his skin, and only now did he feel the severe need of _moving _himself.

It was like while his body was out of commission, his senses had doubled, and he could do nothing to stop or to encourage the presence behind him. He was close to an electrical meltdown, his fine threads of nerves felt like they were overheated by the assault of warmth, touches and merely _feeling_.

The lips once again hovered by his ear, tantalizingly close, and Piers could hear the low growl in the voice. "Good… that's very good." And, with a move that left Piers both breathless and witless, the man roughly grabbed the Frenchman's hips and turned him around so that their faces were mere centimeters from each other.

Piers felt his throat make a noise, something in between an undignified groan and a scoff, at the sudden change in attitude. His eyes were fixed on the naked collarbone of the other, and he realized that the skin was unnaturally pale, a feature he'd seen somewhere before…

"_Where… who…?"_

But he had no time to reminisce about things like that, not when a strong hand nestled itself in his hair and, ever so slightly, pushed his face upwards and forwards. He clamped his eyes shut (if it was out of reflex or something else, he didn't know) and felt the other's unoccupied arm snake around his waist and _hold _him there. Not pulling closer, not pushing away, but securing him in his position, and as a remark about it reached Piers lips, it was swallowed by a foreign pair of hungry lips.

The kiss wasn't harsh, it wasn't rough, but it was urgent and passionate, and Piers wanted so badly right then to be able to push back and _participate_, but could only moan out his satisfaction as their lips slid against each other. The hand that held his head in place tugged gently at his hair and his head was tilted a bit to the side, allowing the foreign pair of lips to explore Piers mouth more thoroughly, and he felt a tongue trace lines on the roof of his mouth.

As air became vital they broke apart, and his own labored breathing felt much too intrusive in the otherwise quiet void. The air was hot, smothering almost, and he felt himself float in delirium as his body limply slumped forward to rest against the other person, his nerves taut and sizzling with overwhelming sensations and just _begging _to be touched.

A nose nuzzled his cheek and the voice spoke: "Open your eyes, Piers." The words melted against his skin.

He merely leaned closer, wanted to get as close as he could (get as much _friction_ as he could), and certainly had no intention of opening his eyes. To open them would… would…

"_Make him disappear.__ Make it end."_

And he didn't want this to end, he wanted this to go on and take him higher than ever before. But through the haze of pleasure, his curiosity stirred. Who was the person that held him?

"Open them." The words were around him, inside his head.

Could he…? Dared he…?

"Yes." The voice whispered.

And his curiosity got the better of his carnal desire, and he opened his eyes.

* * *

And what a cliffy I leave you with! And what a freaking disasturous thing I wrote! But I'm honest and saying that it didn't get better than this, so my skill will need honing. I'll work on it. Maybe on the GS kinkmeme... hurr durr derp.

Review if you'd like! It means much to a writer if the reader takes the time to say a few words! If you don't, it's prefectly fine and I love all of you for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

So...ah, ehehe... long time, no update yeah? Sorry 'bout that, Christmas and all the other shit that happens in December took up a lot of my time and energy, not to mention my creativity. Sucked me dry like... something that sucks peoples creativity dry. Anyways, I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you'll enjoy the new year of 2011!

Again, thank you all that alerts and favs me! It's incredibly honoring!

**Remy: **Thank you for those incredibly nice words! I'm blushing as I upload this chapter, and hope that you'll enjoy it as much as the previous chapters!

**Sakura Li-chan: **No, no dear heavens no! No murdering just yet, but thank you for the nice review! I'm glad you thought the chapter was good, I was concerned... but yeah, cliffies are not really my favourite either but as a writer it's just so fun (and in this case, important) to occasionally y'know... BAM cliffie! Thank you yet again!

**Kendecia: **I swear, my parents were legitimately engaged at the time I was born! Please, believe me! To appease you, have another chappie. Thank you for the review!

**Melkkoe: **Fuuuuuu-! I... I think I got some kind of brain-freeze along with very _very _hot and red cheeks as I read your review. Thank you so much for the praise! I wasn't even aware that my humour was giggle-worthy to that extent. And the smut, well... I'm happy that you liked it, and I'll try to practice even more untill (spoiler maybe? nah, you've all expected it) next time, so it'll be even better. And now _I'll _stop gushing! Thank you so much for your kind review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Golden Sun, or anything associated with it.

Enjoy people!

* * *

_"Yes." The voice whispered. _

_And his curiosity got the better of his carnal desire, and he opened his eyes_

And he jolted upwards, flinging most of the pillows on the floor, with his heart racing in his throat like a jackhammer. The silk sheets clung uncomfortably, far too intimately, to his body, and a few beads of sweat travelled down his forehead to his neck.

"_That didn't just happen."_

Hesitantly, still shaking sporadically, he glanced down to his midsection and barely suppressed a groan of hopeless frustration as he saw the bulge that raised the covers slightly and felt the friction intensify as he shifted. He was boiling hot and with another sigh of irritation beyond belief he rose carefully, mindful of the erhm... _strain _in the more sensitive parts of his body, taking a minute to remember which one of the doors that led to the bathroom before groggily stumbling into the right room and into the shower.

About half an hour of cold showering later, he emerged from the spacious bathroom with a bit more dignity, only to realize that there was a woman in his bedroom, and with that he promptly felt like he lost the dignity he'd gained.

To say that he squealed would've been overdramatizing, but the sound Piers make could be likened to that of a highly undignified parrot's squawk. That the woman got surprised and squawked back, would however have been an understatement. _She _did let out a rather high-pitched squeal, while throwing her hands over her eyes in a vague attempt at hiding her sudden embarrassment. It was a poor attempt, seeing as her cheeks had flushed cherry red the moment she'd seen Piers walk out with only a big white towel around his waist.

Piers hurriedly stumbled towards the discarded bags on the floor, the one's he hadn't bothered to unpack the day before and cursed himself for not doing so, since his wet fingers was having a hard time with the zipper on the duffle bag. Using both hands were out of question, since he needed at least one of them to keep the towel in place, to cover his lower parts.

In the meantime, the woman shuffled backwards and through her stuttering she managed to press out: "I'm so _so _sorry, sir! I-I didn't know that... oh, my!" Her back hit the doorframe and she bowed hurriedly. "The breakfast is on the table, and there's a girl here to see you. I'll send her up shortly." And with that she was gone, far too embarrassed to stay any longer.

While wanting to run after the woman and apologize, even Piers in his stupor understood that that would only make things far worse, and he opted instead to get into the bag and put on at least a pair of pants first. Finally managing to get the bag open, he pulled out a pair of old black sweatpants (that really had been black, they'd just faded in the washing machine) and quickly put them on. As he busied himself with looking for a shirt, a smell hit his nose that made his stomach cramp up and mouth water. The scent was warm and slightly fruity; something in the lines of oranges and strawberries and, involuntarily, his stomach groaned pathetically as he remembered that he hadn't eaten anything since... was it at lunchtime yesterday? Yes, that would probably be right.

A bit reluctant (because he really thought he should get a shirt) he pulled his hands and head out of the large duffle bag and walked out in the spacious living room. And, true to the woman's earlier words, a large tray with a delicately arranged breakfast had been placed on the table. His nose had been correct; orange juice in a glass pitcher and fresh strawberries in a bowl were the things he'd smelled before. Beside those two things there were a stack of pancakes and a loaf of bread, and neatly stacked portions of different jams and a packet containing butter.

His stomach decided to happily growl at the sight, and Piers decided that yes, it was about time to _eat _something and he lazily sauntered over to the small feast he had been presented with, all the while having a slightly giddy feeling in his chest.

"_It's actually kind of fun to get __spoiled like this. It feels like I'm some kind of superstar or something."_

Smiling to himself while entertaining the idea of himself as one of the top marine biologists of all time, or perhaps a revered scientist that'd discovered something life-changingly important, he nabbed one of the bright red strawberries and popped it into his mouth with a satisfied noise. The taste spread like wildfire through his mouth and it felt like heaven right there.

"Piers?" A female voice suddenly came floating from the door.

The young Frenchman turned around, still chewing on the berry, regretting that he hadn't put on at least a t-shirt before eating. He swallowed hurriedly while waving the female inside, inviting her in. "Mia!" He exclaimed when he'd succeeded in clearing his mouth from the strawberry. "I'm sorry, I was hungry so I- ah, you look amazing!"

And the young female really did. Sharing the same traits as her older half-brother Alex, her hair was blue and her eyes almost as piercing, although they were calmer and a bit softer in colour. She had an air of natural elegance and grace around her that many people seemed to get drawn to, however her humble and caring manners clashed with Alex's fiercely. Both siblings were pale skinned, but where Mia's cheeks held a healthy rosy tinge, Alex merely looked frosty.

Wearing a long midnight blue coat that complimented her thin but feminine figure, she seemed like the epitome of female beauty. She smiled and laughed softly at Pier's compliment. "Thank you, Piers. And please, don't mind me. I didn't mean to disturb you."

Piers shook his head at her words. "Polite as always Mia." He grinned brightly. "It's been a while, non?" He slowly craned his neck to get a better look at her, and discovered that she was clutching onto a pair of bags. "Do you want me to take those?"

In turn, she looked down at her hands that held the paper bags. "Oh! Yes, these are for you. Alex thought it to be a nice gift. It's clothes for the meeting we're attending to." She handed them over to Piers, who took them hesitantly.

"He... bought me clothes?" He managed to choke out, trying his hardest not to choke on the laugher that threatened to bubble up in his throat at the thought of Alex shopping for him. "Really?"

Mia started to take of her coat, while smiling back at him. "You find that so hard to believe? He only wants you to look your best when you meet with Mr. Newvale." When she was rid of the heavy coat, she hugged him tightly and said: "I'm so happy for you Piers, I truly am. And I hope with all of my heart that the business-proposal will be successful and enjoyable for you."

His heart seized up at her honest and heartfelt words, but he forced himself to hug her back. The girl was somewhat of a little sister to him (he'd never had any siblings of his own) and to lie her right in the face like this... it hurt, and he felt disgusting and pathetic. But, he reminded himself, it was for the greater good. And if Alex, her only family left, went into bankruptcy, how worried and sad wouldn't she become?

"Thank you Mia, it means a lot to me to hear that." He gently let go of her, not sure that he could manage to be that close to her and not feel like a liar, and held up the bags as a gesture. "I'd better go change if we're going to be there in time."

She nodded graciously and sat down on one of the couches, expectantly waiting for him.

"_I never thought I'd sink that low..."_

Shaking off the accusations his own mind threw at him with a bitter huff and a shake of his head, he hastily unpacked the bags to have something to distract him from his discomfort. Not actually caring what it was Alex had bought him, though he felt that he _should _care since the gesture meant a lot to him (Alex wasn't the kind of person who went out to buy you things every day), he numbly put the clothes on and grabbed a hairbrush since he deemed his hair dry enough not to cause problems if combed through.

Taking a last glance at the room, which he hadn't occupied more than a day, he realized that it all felt far too foreign for him to feel at home there. Even though he knew he wasn't supposed to actually live there for a longer period of time, he couldn't bring himself to call this place a temporary home.

"_Maybe I could pick up some small things from home after the meeting. To make it feel more... like me."_

He agreed silently in his head and then felt a bit bad for not appreciating the luxurious settings he'd been placed in. But, he wasn't used to it he figured, and what harm could a few of his own things do? None, came his conclusion.

"Piers? Are you alright?" Mia's voice drifted through the half open door.

He tore his eyes away (with one last glance at the huge aquarium, just to properly calm his nerves) and walked out into the living area again. He smiled at her, trying to cover his inner turmoil, and waved with the hairbrush. "Sorry, my hair won't co-operate. I just have to brush it a bit more, okay?" He combed through his turquoise mass of hair. "How do I look by the way?"

Mia nodded appreciatively. "You look very handsome. My brother seems to know what suits you." She winked lewdly at him, a gesture so in conflict with the rest of her appearance that it made Piers grin. "I sometimes wonder how you two aren't married yet. Or are you satisfied with your... _work _relationship?"

Piers spluttered and the hairbrush caught violently in a tight knot of hair. "Mia!" He knew she was joking, and he knew there was absolutely nothing to it, but he dutifully played his part as the indignant older brother.

She laughed, a pearly sound that was just as clear and tranquil as the rest of her, and threw a soft pillow at Piers. It missed, which made him laugh at her, and she laughed even harder.

"_I've missed this."_

They'd hung out a lot in the past, mostly with Alex too, and he considered her one of his closest friends. She was very different from Alex, but still very much like him. He knew many, if not all, people got the first impressions of her completely wrong. Sure, she was beautiful and feminine and her caring and almost motherly persona made many think that she was a bit naive or meek. But deep inside that girl lay a strong-willed, playful and highly intelligent spirit that shone through her layers of good manners and soft speeches.

And although they'd been great friends, their time spent together recently had not been more than a few emails and a short phone call. Mia had achieved her greatest dream, and now she was the chief over her own hospital in a city almost a five hour drive from where Piers resided. It was an astounding feat for such a young woman, and many had challenged her for the position, but her medical expertise far outdid anyone else's and she was surprisingly good at running the finances and the staff supposedly (and more than probably) loved her.

"I'm only joking Piers." The young woman said, seemingly taking the marine biologists short silence as a sign of dislike. "But you really do look astounding."

He looked down on himself, and as he'd already felt, he was dressed in jeans (that were more fitted to his body than Alex' had been) in a faded black colour. Not the pair of jeans he'd chosen for himself, but he figured he had a moderately 'average' fashion sense. It could also be called 'boring' if one chose to be honest and slightly rude.

The top was nothing fancy, a white and crisp shirt, which he felt comfortable enough in. He sighed and gave the hairbrush a last yank through his unruly hair and gave the offending blue tresses a withering look. No set of clothes, no matter how expensive and fashionable they were, would look good on him if his hair still looked like a bird's nest. A bird's nest clearly made by a bird with some slight... interior design problems.

Mia giggled silently and motioned for him to come closer. "Here. I'll braid it for you, so it won't be so..." She obviously searched for a word that would be appropriate and still not offend him.

"All over the place." Piers finished the sentence for her, unceremoniously flopping down on the floor in front of her.

"Well, I would not say that... it's just a bad hair-day, I think."

"_I've had a few of those this week..."_

She didn't say anything else, but merely plucked experimentally with his hair for a few moments, before starting to braid it in a complicated, rather tight braid. It didn't take long, she was used to play with both Piers and her brother's long hair, and she finished it neatly by tying it up with a small hair band. Leaning back slightly, she surveyed her handiwork and patted Piers shoulder as a sign that he was now free to move his head in any way he wished.

"Do you want a mirror? I have a small pocket-mirror in my coat..." She rose to retrieve the item, but Piers followed her to the door instead of waiting by the couch.

He grabbed his own jacked while checking the watch that hung on the wall. "I trust you enough to believe it's completely fine. If it starts to slip loose you'll tell me, right?" She nodded an affirmative. "Besides, we need to get going. Traffic is crazy this time of the day."

The chatted, mostly about nothing at all and everything in general, just catching up and gossiping (the latter was mostly Mia), as they proceeded to leave the hotel (with a small wave to Kushinada, who smiled brightly at the recognition) to find a cab.

* * *

Ladies and gentlemen, Mia Mercury! Sweet girl, that one. Not much to say about this, except a_ fool you! _to those of you who thought you'd get to know who Piers mystery-date was. Like most of you haven't already got your suspicions, right?

Thanks to all of you who read all the way down here, I love you lots, and please leave a review if you'd like. It's always incredibly nice to hear from readers! And, in my usual fashion, I send a big hug to everyone who took the time to read the story! Next chapter we'll leave Piers head for a while, and occupy a new one. Guess who's?


	10. Chapter 10

I feel like I owe you all an explanation for my _very_ long abscense. It's not going to be an apology, because I couldn't help it, but it involved me on a bike with my computer in a bag, and a guy to drunk to drive properly on his newly aquired vespa.

To say it simply, it said crash and me and my bag (and my bike, bless the old sod) went flying one way while he just tipped over. My computer took such a hit that it was pretty much completely wrecked and I went to the hospital with sprains and a broken bone.

I feel terrible for not being able to update, even thought I updated 'Worth It' in the end, but it took a while untill I got a proper computer and my will back to write this. But as I have said; this is the one story I won't be able to abandon. For real.

To all those of you who faved and put me on alerts; I love you all for doing it and I appreciate it deeply.

**CaptainElli:** Oh, I will give you as many hugs as you want for reading the story so far! To have you say it's brilliant makes me feel all fuzzy and warm inside (and a bit nervous, because I don't want to dissapoint you) and I truly hope you'll continue reading even though it was a while ago it was updated. Thank you for the review!

**Sakura Li-chan: **And guess what? You were right! It's Felix turn in the spotlight, and he takes the place a bit reluctantly. He was such a troll to write but it was very educational to try to get under his skin. And yeah... my updates are a bit sporadic, I know. But here's one! Thank you so much for reviewing!

**A Neverending Dream of Flight: **(Before I say anything else; you have a very pretty pen-name.) Cue me blushing and making funny noises as I read your review. I'm seriously flattered by your words and I'm so glad that you enjoy the characters and their daily banter. And about Alex, well don't you just have to wait and see? The man is... very unpredictable, as you may have noticed. Trust me, Piers and his family is way shaky, and there'll be drama llamas everywhere, including the 'sneaky-stealy' bit. And yeah, I thought about your way of giving money too (it's one of my more shady plot-holes that I try to cover up) but Alex wants _his _money all at once. Thank you so _so _much for your nice and long review, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

**Kendecia: **Oh fuck. You must be so mad at me now. I'll just throw in my answer to your review and get the hell away to find someplace to hide. I'm sorry that it took so long, but please enjoy, and I really do like you anyway so thanks for the review! Eeeek!

**Bluberrybubblegum: **My dear bluberry, don't apologize for making a review! It's never late or early for that, y'know? And I won't stop, it just took a bit of time this round. And yeah, the hair. It's amazing and I'd love to get my hands on it. Mia was tricky since I'm not a big fan either, but she's a really nice person who deserves a good reputation. As always, love you for the review!

**XxStrawberryCheezecakexX: **That's so sweet of you to say! And yes, here goes Felix into main-character mode and I really hope you'll like the chapter! Thank you for the review!

**aubergine: **...I don't quite know what to say. You'r praise rendered me useless for half an hour, and I was happily smiling for the rest of the day. I'm so happy that you think so highly of the story so far, and that you like the names. I find it incredibly satisfying to try to incorporate the GS world into the modern day with such small things. And about Felix, he's a pain to understand but a good character because he makes me try new ways of conveying words and emotions. I hope you'll still like him after this chapter. As for the French, thanks for the heads-up, from now on I'll try different translators and try to make it better! Yet again, your kind words humble me and I feel like melting. Thank you very much for the review, and enjoy the new chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Golden Sun or the characters in the games. Unfortunately.

* * *

"- and then, Garet said that Isaac and he was going to-"

Felix tuned in and out of his sisters seemingly endless dialogue (which by all means could've just as easily been mistaken for a monologue), as they took place at their table. The restaurant was busy, but the standards it held assured that every customer got their own space and so they weren't really bothered by the hustle and bustle, which Felix was thankfull for. It was one of the reasons he chose this restaurant. That, and the fact that it served a mean fillet mignon.

Turning his head to the nearby window, he kept an eye out for long blue hair.

"Felix, are you listening to me?" Jenna's voice cut through his silent musings, and he reluctantly turned his head back to face his sibling.

She seemed to be expecting an answer. "No." He said honestly, because if he said 'yes', she would probably ask him to recite what she'd said earlier. And he had no clue.

She sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're awfully air-headed to be such a smart guy, you know?" She turned to look out the window too. "Can you see them yet?"

"...no."

"Felix, when they come and join us, _please _say at least two or three words in one sentence. Minimum, okay?" She pulled a hand through her hair, removing her long red tresses from her face and shoulders. "I want to make a good first impression, after all."

"_So do I."_

He said nothing in response, but nodded to try to appease her. She seemed satisfied enough and resumed chatting about whatever it was that Garet and Isaac had done, while idly plucking with the tablecloth.

A couple of cabs went by without the passangers having turqouise hair, and Felix started to think he would have to send his own car to pick the pair up, but then a cab pulled up by the curb and long hair caught his eye.

But the person who stepped out was a woman, a very pretty young woman with light blue hair and-

"_Mia Mercury."_

He recognized hair almost immediately, not because he'd briefly known her, but because of her likness to Alex. Only thinking about the man made Felix unconsciously clanch his jaw and an array of razor-sharp feelings shredded his brain, in a way similar to a very nasty brain-freeze only with added acid that bubbled and tore through everything in its way. But then another person stepped out and the brainstorm was put on hold. Piers, who smiled that small not-really-but-still-a-smile that Felix had begun to think was permanently plastered onto his lips, stepped out while obviously thanking the driver.

"Wow... she's really pretty, but you should stop staring brother." Jenna's voice broke through to him again, and he jerkily pulled his eyes away from the pair. She giggled at his brief frown in her direction.

He looked at his sister, and was was suddenly glad that she was there. Sure, she could be impossibly demanding and childish sometimes, but... she was his _sister, _and when she smiled like she did now, he knew that she was the closest to a therapist he could get. She understood his general awkwardness around people, his lack of interest in fame altogether and when he fell into silence (that could stretch out for hours on end) she more than made up for it with her chattering and social mannerism. He gave her a tilt of his own lips. "I wasn't staring at her."

"_But maybe staring at someone else."_

He almost twiched in his seat when he heard Piers voice from the lobby, talking with the waiter that would take him and Mia to their table, and he reprimanded himself for being so jumpy. Felix fixed his sister with his eyes, and figured he should be a little appreciative. "Thank you for coming with me."

She seemed surprised, maybe at the number of words and maybe because of the meaning of said words, but then her eyes landed on the approaching pair and the fleeting expression vaporized. "Piers! There you are, come on! I'm starving!"

"_Subtle as always, though."_

Felix turned his head, and true, there they stood and Felix thought for a second, one eternally long sickening second, that they looked like a Disney-couple. Mia had always been very pretty (not cute, not quite the hot girl and not really the fashionista, but very _pretty_), and she did look beautiful right now, with her elegant set of clothes, natural smooth and pale skin and calm eyes. Her hand was loosely resting on Piers offered arm and, seeing as the marine biologist had pulled the sleeves on the shirt he wore up to his elbows, her porcelain skin and his caramel tone contrasted sharply, yet not disturbingly. Piers himself was...

"_He's... very good looking."_

Indeed, he was. But despite the clothes and the hair (braided, Felix noted, and thought that it looked very charming) that obviously fit right in in this kind of environment, Piers chewed lightly on his lower lip, as if he was nervous. Felix realized he'd seen that before, while he had... more or less spied on the Frenchman. He briefly wondered if he did that often, and couldn't really tear his eyes away from Piers mouth. It was unnerving that the young man had such effect on him.

But his silent train of thought was hastily put to a halt, as Mia gently held out her hand and said: "Oh, Felix Newvale. It has been quite some time since we last met, I suppose. Thank you so much for letting me join your dinner, and I hope I'm not intruding." She was so damnably polite (just like he himself was) and he stared at her for just a second.

Mia's open honesty and complete lack or sarcasm destroyed the veil of her and Alex being the same, and he took her hand without feeling like he wanted to puke. "Mia Mercury-" But the last name still felt like venom on his tongue. "-it's been a while indeed. There's no need to thank me though." He gestured at his sister and Piers. "You're welcome."

He let go of her hand and noted that she didn't look like she wanted to laugh or brag, so he figured she didn't know about the... incident a few years back. He suspected Alex had kept his end under wraps and for someone like Alex, telling his sister what he'd done would be very unlikely.

"_Good."_

Jenna bounced up and completely ignored Piers offered hand, and instead pulled him into a hug. "You look awesome, Piers! Is this your girlfriend?" She looked over at Mia with a mischeivous smile.

Although Felix didn't know why, a tight knot formed in his stomach at the question and he listened intently at the conversation.

"_He already said they weren't a couple."_

...

"_Why would I care about that anyway?"_

Felix blinked rapidly a few times to shut his head up and turned to the waiter and waved him over to order, while still keeping his ears on whatever Piers or Mia might say.

"Oh, no! He's like an older brother to me, but we're not involved romantically." Mia laughed and Piers smiled while nodding, and somehow the knot in Felix stomach dissolved. Mia took a step towards Jenna, and held out her hand to greet her. "I don't think we've met. I'm Mia Mercury."

"Jenna Newvale, Felix sister. It's really nice to meet you, Mia!" Jenna pulled her towards a chair, the one straight across where Felix was sitting, and then plopped down on a chir next to Mia. They seemed to hit it off immediately, and they chatted about something that Felix had no clue about.

"Hi, Felix." Piers voice stopped his observations, and Felix turned to face him fully.

He forced himself not to smile like an idiot, which was easier said than done when he was facing Piers-

"_Why does he _do _that to me? Am I...?"_

-and succeeded with pride. Although he did hold out his hand, and when Piers took it, he shook it warmly. It seemed inadequate in a way, and he wished he knew why. "It's good to see you, Piers. How are you?"

Piers grinned (and for a brief moment Felix wanted to _touch skin _and _pull hair _and _taste lips _and- nothing, he said to himself, empty your head and think of nothing) and slipped into the seat next to Felix. "It's good to see you too. I'm fine, thanks. And you?" He motioned with his head towards the girls. "Jenna sure makes friends quickly." He didn't seem to mind thought.

"I'm fine. And yes, she usually does."

The waiter managed to weave his way through the full restaurant and he took their orders with an experienced flick of the wrist, scribbling numbers on a piece of paper. They chatted, polite table-talk and get-to-know-everyone-things, which didn't really interest Felix if it weren't Piers who spoke up but he seemed a bit distant today and Felix wanted to know why, but he couldn't figure out how to bring it up in a good way. He wasn't good at things like _talking_, and although it hadn't bothered him before, it sure did now.

"So, guys, Mia said she hadn't seen the city yet, and that's kind of a shame isn't it?" Jenna said happily, after taking a sip of her drink (something fruity and disgustingly sweet, with a strawberry perched on the edge of the sugar-crusted rim of the glass). "And I was thinking that we could do a,little sightseeing after the dinner?"

Mia looked pleasantly surprised, and smiled bashfully at the attention she was given. "Oh, no I'm sure you have a lot to discuss! I wouldn't want your meeting to go to waste because of me!" She shook her head, and turned the smile to Jenna. "But thank you very much for your consideration."

Felix looked at them, and was hit by a sudden bout of inspiration. He _liked _his mind sometimes, even thought it could be a bit noisy. "You two go then. Piers and I-" He was minutely glad that Piers didn't seem to mind that Felix took the decision _for _him. Or perhaps he just didn't have time enough to butt in, and Felix wasn't going to give him the chance. "-will continue our arranged meeting here." He leaned back in his seat, feeling quite happy with himself for getting so many words out at once.

Piers looked at him from the corner of his-

"_They are really yellow... they're beautiful."_

_..._

"_Shut up."_

-eye, something strange passing over his features, but then smiled reassuringly at the girls. "That would be the best solution wouldn't it? Of course, that's only if you don't insist on our company."

"Are you sure? Because... I'd really like to go. And I'm perfectly sure that Jenna and I could... ehm..." Mia trailed of, looking to the side.

"Have more fun without you guys!" Jenna chimed in, just as their orders arrived. "I don't know about Piers though, but my brother can't keep up with my shopping for anything in the world!" She nudged Mia's shoulder. "Then it's decided. After dinner, we hit the city and leave them to the boring bit."

The air around the table was comfortably relaxed, something Felix was unused to in a group of people he hadn't known for very long. Not even his irritated glances at his sister when she jibed aboud his silence and rigid posture had the same bite as usual. The slight warmth radiating from the body seated beside him kept him anchored in the moment, kept him _sedated _almost and he blamed Piers mere presence as he found himself adding a couple of words now and then to the conversation. Mostly to something Piers had said, but beggars couldn't be choosers now could they?

The meal was delicious, as Felix knew it would be, and he secretly found himself incredibly pleased when Piers announced that he thought his taste-buds were in heaven. It was important to him for some reason, that Piers enjoyed himself in Felix company, and Felix also noticed that the young man had stopped chewing on his lip. Taking it as a good sign, he couldn't keep himself from smiling at the other, and he took part in the conversation with more confidence. He completely missed Jenna's increasingly suspicious looks.

The waiter came around a second time, routinely asking if the food had been to their taste, to which everyone gave their positive response, and started to collect the plates. Somehow, Felix didn't really see what happened, a few cutleries slipped out of the waiters grasp and clinked down on the floor between Piers and himself. The young man apologised profusely, and begun to arrange himself to pick up the dropped items.

"Don't worry, please. I'll get them for you."

"_He could live with being a bit less courteous, really."_

Piers, for that had been the person to speak up so merrily, bent down and started to reach for the knives and forks, while Felix got a good look under his shirt. The white fabric that was well fitted to the Frenchman's body was a bit looser at the top where a few buttons where left open, and when Piers bent down, Felix couldn't help but stare (subtly, since even his staring was subtle) at the tanned skin that stretched taut over well-shaped, lean muscles. He absently felt something stir deep in his belly.

And then Piers righted himself, face slightly flushed, and gave the somewhat shocked waiter the items and that was that. The primal thing, that thing that warmed and thrilled his insides, moved again but quickly faded with a harsh mental reprimand, and Felix didn't even move one muscle, much less changed his facial expression, as the waiter thanked the Frenchman with a grateful smile and Piers turned in his chair to face forward again.

Mia, who sat there just as calm and perfect as before, clapped her hands together lightly. "Now, then! I believe we should be going, and let you two have some time alone. There must be an awful lot of things you need to discuss."

"_For her own sake, I hope she don't know how wrong that sounds in my head right now."_

Apparently she didn't, and neither did his sister who, less subtle than Mia in her actions, slammed her palm against the table with a _'thunk'. _"You're right! We should leave right now, but I just have to go to the bathroom first. Felix, join me." There was a minuscule stretch of time in which Felix eyes locked with Jenna's and he immediately began fearing for his life. Or sanity. Whichever would surrender first.

Before anyone could make any kind of argument, Jenna had grabbed her brother by the arm and dragged him halfway to the ladies room, leaving behind her a wake of confused waiters and waitresses, and a half-assed string of _'I'm sorry_'s. It was only when they were at the door that Felix remembered that he should probably _not _go in there, if not for anything but that he wasn't a _woman. _Technically he had no legal right to be in there. Logic would save his soul yet again.

"Jenna, I can't go in there." He said quickly, as she pushed the door open, hoping to somehow touch her partially sensible side.

His plan backfired as Jenna looked at him with a weird look in her burgundy eyes. "Yes, you can you idiot. One foot in front of the other. Get in here." And she hauled his sorry ass inside, without even bothering to check if anyone was in there. Thankfully, the bathroom was empty and Felix righted himself as much as he thought appropriate in such a place.

His sister moved to stand in front of one of the big mirrors that adorned the long wall, and fiddled with her hair for a minute before turning to Felix expectantly. "You like Piers, don't you?"

He stiffened for a second. _"Did she pick up on that? Do the others know? Does _Piers _know?"_

"No." He said. "He seems to be a likeable person enough, I suppose, but I don't know him that well yet." He decided to counter. "Do you enjoy his company?"

She huffed, clearly not impressed with his answer. "Of course I do, and I couldn't think of anyone who _wouldn't _enjoy his company. He's incredibly nice and calm. But you _know _I didn't mean it like that." Her foot begun tapping idly on the mosaic floor. She did that when she was irritated, Felix knew, and it wasn't a particularly good sign.

He glared at her nevertheless. "I'm not sure I get what you're at Jenna." It felt like he would be smothered by the bright white, shining ceramic walls. He did not want to have this conversation.

"_Can't she just leave it at that?"_

"You should know! After all, it would be impossible for you to deny that you actually have taken a liking to him. I first thought it was Mia you wanted to see, but it's was him wasn't it?" She smirked. "I saw you during the dinner. And I _heard _you."

He frowned darkly, feeling cornered. "What do you mean?"

She chuckled."You spoke up, you dolt! You actually _talked _to him, you relaxed around him. Face it, you have a man-crush on your new marine-biologist!"

Through his head went a million and one ideas on how to get out of this with his secret and his pride intact, and all of them were useless. He opted for shaking his head. "Have not!" He spat out, feeling childishly angry at his sister for pointing it out clearly for him.

"Do too!" She argued back with childish glee. "You checked him out when he bent down too! I know you did!"

His vision seemed to zoom in and out for a few minutes, making him dizzy and cold. What on _Earth _could he say to that? It was practically true. He'd been worrying over this ever since he'd met Piers in Alex' office, the feelings and random thoughts not really going away.

He realized that it was probably in all likeliness just what Jenna said. He was attracted to his newly hired marine-biologist, who was a man and a friend to Alex Mercury. And this was not something he should be right now. Not ever.

"_But you are."_

…

"_This will not work out."_

…

"_I might be gay... for Piers."_

"Do you have any idea how disturbing it is when you zone out like that?" Jenna's voice cut through the haze with razor-sharp precision, and he focused his eyes on her tense form. She had her arms crossed and her foot was still tapping, but she looked worried.

"_She's your sister, of course she's worried. Like you are for her sometimes."_

"Sorry." He croaked out. He took a few steps backwards and collapsed against the cool, smooth wall behind him. In the back of his mind, he knew that this was so wrong it could ever get; he was in the women's bathroom in an expensive restaurant, having a startling and somewhat world-altering revelation about the fact that he might actually be interested in his co-worker in more than friendly ways.

"I might be gay, Jenna." He whispered out, and he felt a headache build up. _"For Piers." _Wasn't spoken, but it hung in the air between them.

His sister smiled, and the tension evaporated as if it'd never been there at all. "That's a good start at least."

"So you're not upset... about this whole thing?" He hoped she weren't. But he knew there was a lot of different views on homosexuality, many of which he wasn't comfortable with, but judging from her face it wasn't going to be an issue.

She let out a short laugh. "With you for actually liking someone? Hell no! I was beginning to think you were asexual, so this is a great improvement." She sounded happy, and a bit teasing as she added: "Better late than never I suppose."

He didn't know what to say. Everything seemed very surreal at the moment, but he had to regain his control. So he nodded. "I suppose." He wasn't really looking forward going out in the restaurant again, having to face Piers with this new insight. But on the other hand, he couldn't wait to do it.

He sighed, the weight of the world settling nicely around him again, and he decided to throw a glare at his sister before letting his hand rest on the door-handle. "Tell _anyone _about this Jenna, and I'll never forgive you."

She smiled, serene for an unbelievable moment, and nodded slightly. "I know." She said calmly, nothing like the intense and boisterous sister a few minutes ago, and walked up to him. "I know when serious things need to be kept close to heart. Trust me, I did this only for your own sake. Denying things are bad for people."

He pushed the door open and they went out to the other world, of restaurant-people and the scent of delicious food and a table at the far end that hosted two blue-haired people, one of which had just begun to (unknowingly) change Felix life.

And for once, he trusted his sister to be just as right as she claimed to be.

* * *

There we go! A late update, and a hard update but I hope you liked it! I think Felix would be able to come 'round the fact that he might like Piers quicker than Piers doing vice-versa, since he's a much more straight-forward guy and won't try to delude himself. Although now, in the aftermath, I think it might've gone a bit too fast, but this was the way it was written and I can't bring myself to change it. It's pretty crucial to the plot anyhow.

Thank you all for reading (the one's of you who actually found it worth returning to) even though it was a long pause, and I love you all! And do I even have to say it? I adore reviews, and they're a treat to get and read. If you feel like it, please send me one! If not, I won't be mad at you anyway! Thank you again!


	11. Chapter 11

... I'm back from Japan and China, currently hiding in Dublin for the weekend. I recovered quickly enough from the unfortunate misshap with the drunk driver to be able to continue my journey.

Yeah, I do that now. Travel. It's apparently the new, hip thing to do. Not to mention time-consuming and not good for people who like to write but can't afford a laptop.

Took me a while to get comfortably back into this story, there's a lot to remember and to fit in. For all of you people who actually read this story now, or puts it on Alert or Favourite after such a long hiatus, I can't thank you enough, or love you any more than I currently do. Honestly, it's humbling to say the least.

**Fireks: **Thank you for your incredibly kind words, at the time I really needed to hear them! And yeah, I think Felix would be more honest with himself, almost brutaly so, and Piers does have a lot on his mind. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Ukyotoo lazy to login: **One of the best you've read...? I died a little of all the happiness that I got when I read your review! Thank you so much! No worries, one review is more then I could ever ask for! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too. Thank you for reviewing!

**The Black Order: **Aasgdkjaepasnk, stop it! Most of the chapters aren't amazing (like this one) but it makes me so happy that you like them! It's a bit much to ask that you'd wait _this _long for a new chapter, and I'm sorry about that. Thank you so much for your kind words!

**aubergine:** It didn't take long for me to recover, but thank you so, _so _much for the kind words! Don't feel guilty, I need a kick in the butt to get it moving! I guess I succeeded then, if you thought Felix was likeable... he's such a dork to write! And there you go again, saying all those things about me that makes me all giddy and giggly and a bit in love with you. Honestly, stop it before I die from blushing too much. Thank you so much for the extremely nice review (again!).

**Amy Ehren: **Keep writing you say? Of course I'll keep writing... it just... might take a little while... erhm, I'm very sorry about that. Oh Lord almighty, you liked it? I feel a bit proud now... and yes, awkward was all over the place when I wrote it. Thanks for reviewing!

**anon: **Gosh, and you say your ability to communicate your point died when you're able to turn me into mush with just one review? No suing people over here, though I wish I could... and about brothers/sisters, I love when they have good relationships too. It's just... such a nice, uncomplicated thing that has all these little unseen and hidden things that conveys love and friendship. Look at me now, all sappy... Thank you so much for the lovely review!

**Mudkip: **(I'll refrain from making a mudkipz joke) I'm glad you liked the story so far! And yeah, you can expect updates... just not very regularly... I'm so sorry about that. But hey, it's not dead at least! Thank you for the review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything Golden Sun related! Why do you think I write _fan_fiction about it, eh?

* * *

Mia and Jenna had left only minutes after the sibling pair had returned from the impromptu visit to the bathroom, and had left Piers and Felix in a rather hurried flurry of 'good-bye's' and promises of phone-calls. The silence that erupted after they'd disappeared felt incredibly clumsy and provocative to Piers mind, and he tried to keep himself from asking what in the world Felix had done in the ladies room (because that would only be awkward).

Felix seemed for a moment to be lost in thought, and Piers wondered why Jenna had looked so smug when she'd walked out of the restaurant.

"_Don't ask."_

Nope, no asking weird things that would only make the situation even weirder, please and thank you.

"I am sorry for the... inconvenience my sister caused. I hope you didn't mind." Felix smoothly said, and Piers couldn't understand how a person could be so dignified and collected after what had just transpired.

"Not at all." But he'd roll with it. For some reason, he'd become more comfortable with his situation the more time had passed, and now he felt rather happy, sitting in one of the finest restaurants in town, and he'd succeeded in giving Mia a good day off. She'd smiled more with Jenna than he'd ever seen her do with just Alex and him, and he'd instantly seen the friendly spark between the two (radically different, but so alike) girls. Thus, he managed an easy grin in Felix direction. "I think they will enjoy each others company, so I guess we won't have to rush anything."

His brain-functions seemed to slow down. _"... that sounded much better in _here, _than in real words."_

Interestingly enough, Felix stilled completely and looked straight at him for a chilling and breathtaking moment, but the sudden action vanished as soon as it'd shown up. The brown-haired man cleared his throat in a seemingly distressed way (Piers noticed all this with great confusion) and straightened in his chair, now sitting opposite to Piers. "Yes, no need to... rush things. Now, the things I wanted to discuss with you..."

Here they lapsed into a discussion with an array of topics, mostly regarding employment, hours and (something that Piers became hugely uncomfortable when discussing) payment. The conversation nibbled a little on how versatile Piers skills were, how to best hone and use them as well as how he could co-operate with the rest of the team. It was enjoyable, Piers thought, to be able to have such an light and flowing conversation with the man who was to become his co-worker, since most of the times they'd talked something had almost always clouded his mind.

"I believe that was all we needed to arrange for now. Thank you for your time, Piers." Felix said at last, and begun to rise from his chair, while pulling out his cellphone. "I'll call the ladies and let them know we'll be picking them up shortly."

Piers snorted at the statement, but said nothing of it as it seemed Felix just had a peculiar (and not in the always good sense) way with words. He was formal, to-the-point and, at times, rather businesslike in his way of speaking. "No problem at all." He had the 'Mr. Newvale' on his tongue but dropped it since he remembered how adamant the other was about being called Felix. "Should I take care of the payment while you talk to them?"

He said it with confidence, a confidence he hadn't had in years, because Alex had bestowed upon him a new credit-card, provided no questions were asked and no expenses cut and Piers was free to use it while impersonating a rich, climbing-to-fame marine biologist. To have that freedom, in the size of a plastic card, was disgustingly satisfying, and although he liked the feel of it and the sound of his own voice making the suggestion that he could pay _for all of them, _deepdownhe knew he'd have to be careful not to do anything too stupid.

"_But paying for a dinner is just what I got it for!" _He sent a worried, although thankful thought to Alex.

Felix looked at him suddenly, looking almost surprised. "Oh." He pressed a button, Jenna was probably on speed-dial, and shook his head. "No need. I cleared that with the management beforehand."

"But... I don't want you to pay for both me and Mia!" Piers rose from the table, and took a step forward. "Really, I'll give you the money I owe you!"

"_Oh, irony." _Yes, life worked in mysterious, and very disturbed, ways.

Piers opened his mouth to suggest that he could perhaps pay for the ride home then, but Felix quickly put a finger to his own lips and made a shushing sound. Apparently Jenna had picked up the phone on the other line.

"We're done here... yes." He listened to his sister for a bit. "Half an hour? Yes. Good." He hung up and gestured with his hand towards the door. "We'll be meeting them at Goma Plaza. The car is waiting for us outside."

Piers shuffled on his feet, feeling a bit run over, but nodded to show his thanks anyway and walked towards the door. He saw Felix follow him from the corner of his eye, stop briefly by the counter and exchange a few words with a waitress (who looked very sharp, almost too perfect to be human) and then continue after Piers.

To step out on the pavement felt like stepping out in another world entirely. Gone was the somewhat heavy air with an aroma of expensive food and the subtle hint of newly poured wine, the hushed hustle and bustle of diners and the efficiently working staff. Out here the air was lighter and mixed with the tangy smells of pollution, hot-dogs from street-vendors, newspaper-ink, busy people and the ominous promise of late summer rain.

Piers felt the breeze play with his long braid, the waft of air was warm but a steely, prickling chill underlined all that nice summer heat and he knew that soon he'd have to wear a coat to work. If he had one, that was. He wasn't sure, but he had a distant memory of throwing it away last autumn, when it'd been too patched up and worn thin to actually make any difference between wearing it or not.

If he felt an inkling of nervousness creep up his back he blamed it on Felix, who'd just exited the restaurant and had his arm raised as if to get someone's attention.

A car, not as sleek and suave-looking as Felix private one but still looking very refined, slowly drove up to the curb and stopped by their side. It was a grey car.

"_Okay, I need to know more about this kind of stuff. Rich-people kind of stuff. If he asks for my opinion I can't just say 'Yes, it's a lovely grey car. Nice shade of... grey.' I'll sound like an idiot."_

But Felix didn't ask for his opinion, he just held one door open expectantly and looked at Piers with eyes that somehow weren't the same as when they met. Piers didn't know what, didn't even know if he liked the change in a man that seemed so constant, so solid, but he found himself accepting the offer and got into the car and buckled up. Felix closed the door and quickly walked around and got into the seat next to him.

"What kind of car is this?" Piers asked, his unbearable curiosity getting the best of him. Screw sounding uneducated, he wanted to know what this grey car had to offer other than it's colour.

Felix looked mildly surprised and then thoughtful. He turned with an eyebrow raised, and looked vaguely apologetic. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Piers was beginning to say that it didn't matter, that he actually didn't care at all-

"_That all you want to do is talk to Felix more?"_

-and that he was sure the car was a very nice car nonetheless.

"Should I ask the driver?" Felix said, glancing at the tinted glass wall that separated their spacious seats from the front.

Although Piers felt the internal conflict starting up, debating fiercely whether to say yes or no, he sensed it coming to a standstill as Felix completely ignored the common way to wait for an answer after asking a question, and quickly rapped his knuckles against the darkened glass.

[Yes, Mr. Newvale?] The drivers voice buzzed from the small speakers next to the window.

The brown-haired man leaned a bit closer to the speaker. "Babi, do you know what kind of car this is perchance?"

The speaker was quiet for a moment. Then: [No, I'm afraid not Mr. Newvale. I'm sorry, the car is new and I haven't paid the brand much attention. All I know other than the driving mechanics is that the car is grey. Maybe our guest, Mr. Lemúrìan, knows?]

Felix leaned back in his seat, looking a tiny bit disappointed. Piers found it funny that he, a moment ago, had been so worried about not knowing things that he thought all rich people knew. Here Felix was, knowing just as little as he, proving yet again that he was nothing like Piers had expected him to be. Felix spoke up: "I know it's grey too, Babi."

Piers exploded in laughter.

"_I do too."_

* * *

The girls were picked up without much hassle even though Goma Plaza, a newly built and very trendy shopping-paradise with prices as high as the skyscrapers that housed the stores and fashionable boutiques, was a busy place since Babi seemed to have been born with the sole purpose of driving. Piers was silently amazed at the man's incredible navigation through the maze of cars and people, there was not a single hitch in the gearing nor a too-sudden stop for an unseen car or pedestrian. It was smooth sailing all the way.

Mia had taken up the last seat beside Piers, and Jenna had happily hopped in up front. There were a few brightly coloured bags in both girls hands and they seemed to have taken to each other like two peas in a pod, chatting about this and that with such ease and humour that, had Piers not known Mia for such a long time, one could think they were childhood friends.

However, as the girls got into the car and Babi set course for the train-station where Mia would take the express-train home, the conversation between Piers and Felix (which had just started to become something that could almost be labelled 'relaxed') had died down to a quick glance and a nod.

As the station came into view, Mia gently nudged Piers' side. "Thank you for today, Piers. It was lovely." She smiled at him.

"Don't thank me, I was only happy to see you again Mia." He smiled back. "Thank Alex-"

He felt Felix stiffen and was yet again reminded of their very strained friendship, if one could even call it that, but tried not to mind. He finished: "-for everything."

She said that she would, and then politely said goodbye to Felix too. When she got out of the car (Babi faithfully holding the door open) Jenna rushed out and embraced her tightly.

"It was so much fun meeting you, Mia! You have my number and I have yours, so we _have _do this again soon, there are no excuses. Promise me that!" She joyfully chirped as Mia hugged her back.

Piers saw Mia's cheeks turn a light shade of red, that type of excitement and energy had never been her strong suite, but she seemed very happy to receive the attention anyway. "I agree. It was wonderful meeting you, Jenna. And I promise you, as soon as I'm in town I'll call you right away."

They parted, a smile gracing Mia's lips as she waved at the two young men in the car, and before long the car was rolling again. This time it seemed they were heading for the fire-department.

* * *

Wow, so much of nothing happened in this chapter! To make it up to you all who managed to read through this load of crap, the next chapter will include a lot more. A new character for example, and some other stuff I won't tell you about 'cause... well, obvious reasons really.

Care to take a guess on who the new Golden Sun character will be?


	12. Chapter 12

Look at me, updating within 6 months of the previous update! It must be a miracle! And it's not even christmas yet!

You people that favs and/or alerts me and/or this story... you people make me so happy, y'know that right?

**Chain Mell: **I wouldn't be suprised if _everyone _forgot about this store at one point or even _several _points. Thing is, I'm not planning on leaving this story unfinished, it's just that I'm a right expert at procastinating stuff and sometimes life just shoves a bunch of stuff in your way. Sorry to keep you waiting for so long, but I am so grateful that you reviewed the story _at all_! (Traveling was awesome, thank you!) I hope you like this chapter!

**pinksnowboots:** Eeeheheee, look at you being all nice to me even though I don't deserve it! Thank you for the review, and let's see if this chapter was worth the wait!

**aubergine: **Augergine... what r u doing? Aubergine. _Stahp. _(Runs around, trying to piece all the vegetable-pieces together again) Yup, here I am again and I'm so happy to see you again too! Traveling was great, if you ever get the chance just grab it and go! Thank you so much for your incredibly kind review (nicer than I deserve, and I know it!) and here's a new chapter for you! I hope you'll enjoy it!

**CaptainElli: **I don't think many people expected _anything _more from me on this story, but I hope the suprise was a good one! I had lots of good times on my little adventure, thanks :) thank you for the nice review, and let's see if this chapter can keep you interested!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Golden Sun or anything related to that universe.

* * *

"_-no,_ only because your team completely _ruined _the evidence-"

"-because there was a _fire_ and _people _in the same house!"

"-and we can't build a case on him! Just 'cause the fire-"

"Well, it was an emergency! They're still _alive, _but nothanks to-"

"-idiots who run around on a murder-scene!"

"-idiots who only care about their cases!"

Cue the temperamental, and very childish, ending 'harumpf!' and two redheads pointedly walking away from each other.

The fire-station and the police office were apparently neighbours, for reasons that probably were explainable in some way or another. Those reasons paled in comparison to the _other _reasons that vouched for why it was an incredibly, extremely, _horrendously _bad idea to still have them next to each other.

Reason and redhead no.1 Jenna Newvale, who was working as a police officer.

Reason and redhead no.2 Garet Mars, who was working as a fireman.

There was nothing that could make them stop arguing, the accusations and insults hailed around the two men standing outside the buildings; one surprised and one not caring at all.

When Garet had stomped off into the fire department building, Jenna resolutely walked over to the car and gave Piers a quick good-bye hug. He returned it somewhat sluggishly, feeling a bit shocked at her previous hissing at Garet, and leaned back against the car as she hugged her brother (who looked surprisingly okay with human contact for once) and whispered something in his ear that made his whole body freeze for a brief second and almost jerk back from the embrace.

"_What's that about...?"_

Jenna just smirked, started jogging to the entrance of the police department, and shouted a farewell over her shoulder. Piers decided she looked far too smug to appear innocent.

"So... Garet and Jenna aren't on the best of terms?" Piers cautiously asked the other man.

Felix looked over, just as he was opening the car door to let Piers in. "He's an old friend. They bicker like children nonetheless." He nodded at the open door, motioning for the Frenchman to hop in.

"_Again with the door. I don't know it it's nice or just awkward..."_

Piers didn't comment, he thought it better to accept Felix' small quirks and odd attempts to be friendly, and gracefully slid into the empty car-seat. Felix didn't make it to the other side of the car before someone called out his name.

Garet came jogging out from the fire department, waving a hand to keep them from leaving. "Hey!" He grinned as he ran up to the viechle, something boyish and sincere shining through the seemingly rough exterior. "I forgot to tell you, the chief cleared the security details for the event."

Piers kept his hands from buckling the seatbelt and instead studied the red-haired man. He appeared rugged at first, the shock of bright rust-red hair was unruly and spiky, a case of slight stubble on his chin and, as Piers noticed when he let his eyes roam over the bare arms, a plethora of scars, big and small, criss-crossed his skin.

"_Looks like someone Menardi would love to meet."_

But then, when you did a double-take, the man's smile, faint dimples and all, was way too big and way too open to be anything but honest and trusting, the eyes were sparkling with sincere naivety and the way he moved suggested that although he was incredibly muscular, he didn't spend all that much time in the gym. He was just naturally built that way.

Felix nodded, seemingly pleased. "That is good to hear. Will you be there in person?"

"Yeah, 'course!" Garet laughed. "Wouldn't want to miss the big reveal!" He looked over to Piers and held out his hand. "Don't think we met, the name's Garet Mars."

Piers smiled, feeling oddly at peace with greeting this man. "Hi. I'm Piers Lemúrìan, nice to meet you Mr. Mars." He took the offered hand, leaning out of the car while doing so, and almost fell out as Garet shook it. He had a... _firm_ handshake, that was for sure.

Glancing up to sneak a peak at Felix, he caught the man's dark eyes. He looked like he was secretly smiling at him, as if he knew this would happen all along.

The only one not noticing anything was Garet, probably so used to his own strength and exuberant social ways that it didn't even register in his mind that it might be a bit more than people expected.

And it wasn't just Garet's strength that was slightly over the top, his laugh was loud and hearty too. "Hah, if you're a friend of Felix and Jenna, you're a friend of mine! Call me Garet, and we'll be fine."

Despite his constant churning worries about what the future would hold, he couldn't help but get drawn in by the man's simple yet irresistible charm (wasn't there something vaguely Texan about his accent? Maybe a second generation, Piers couldn't be sure) and nodded his head. "If you say so. Then the same goes for you, call me Piers and not Mr. Lemúrìan. It's usually easier that way too."

"Yeah, wasn't really able to wrap my tongue 'round that last name, so you're making me a favour!" Garet laughed again, and Piers chuckled along with him. "Sorry, won't keep you any longer. Just wanted to give you the news face to face. Bet you'll get a formal letter or something on the matter too, from the chief and the other bigwigs."

Felix nodded. "I appreciate it. I'm sure it will be most satisfactory."

"Sure it will, you know me." The red-head tipped his head towards the police station. "And Jenna too, of course. S'not like she won't bring the whole cavalry, and then some to keep the place covered."

Felix hummed a response, the conversation between the two ending with a friendly handshake, and got in the car.

The fireman's eyes turned back to Piers. "Nice meetin' you, Piers. Hope I'll see you around."

"It was nice meeting you too, Garet. I'm sure we'll bump into each other sometime or another." With a wave goodbye and a smile, Piers closed the door and Babi drove off again. He sunk back into the comfortable seat. "Why does he and Jenna fight? He seemed like a nice guy." He asked Felix when the car had left the two department buildings behind.

The other man shrugged. "I don't know." He looked over at the marine-biologist. "It seems that they are determined to disagree, on almost all things." Maybe it was just the light playing tricks on Piers mind, but he thought he saw something glinting in Felix eyes, something hidden and amused pulling at his lips. "Between you and me, I think they fight because they're too similar. Stubborn and rash, both of them." He said this with a certain fondness, wistful nostalgia and secret memories.

The car smoothly navigated through the late afternoon traffic, the silent humming of the engine was hypnotizing and the last warm sun rays that lazily stretched out over the seats were divine. It induced a sort of tranquil stillness that was rare these days, the almost-silence welcoming tired ears and heads. The sun was big and coloured in warm shades of orange and peach, and it hung low on the slowly changing sky. The bright blue was turning pale purple and a velvety shade of cyan, the very special kind of nuances that were somehow different, somehow crisper and edgier, that signalled the ends of a warm summer and welcomed the incoming period of colder autumn.

"_I wonder how the room looks like now... probably really beautiful."_

He was startled out of his reverie, the thought of his luxurious hotel room and his overall situation again making itself uncomfortably clear and all of a sudden the car felt incredibly oppressive. Gone were the warming shafts of sun, they only felt too hot and too intrusive, and the air was stale. It was too cramped, he was too close to Felix and...

"_I'm too close to him, too much on the way of befriending him. Too much on the way of... something."_

Right. His eyes turned to the window, watched as cars and skyscrapers whizzled past, the world turned blurry and diffuse as the car had picked up speed. He thought briefly about home, hoping to block the worrying thoughts out of his mind for now, about the sea and the house... the boat and...

"Where would you prefer to be dropped off? At the _Sanctum Inn_?"

"Yes, please." He responded carefully, the name of his _own _street and apartment-building on the tip of his tongue but shooed away in the last second. He suddenly remembered his idea from earlier this morning, a good one and a very welcome one. It lifted his spirits from the dull, frightened worry and he leaned his head in his cupped hand and decided to pass the time with Felix, being content and focusing only on the good things that'd come with this whole ordeal. "Garet was talking about the event, right?"

Felix nodded.

"How many people are you expecting exactly?"

The archaeologist contemplated this for a second. "I'm not the right person to ask. The Anemos twins will have gathered quite the crowd thought, I am sure of that."

"You've mentioned 'the Anemos twins' before, haven't you? Who are they? I know about their fund that finances the research but I haven't heard of anything else." Piers asked curiously, remembering to sound casual while mentioning _fund _and _finances. _He grinned at Felix as the other male glared at him, probably to make him shut up and stop talking so much.

"They are, in a way, part of the team. Sheba and Ivan Anemos are the late president's adopted children; they inherited the organization after his death. You'll meet them soon enough." Felix raised an eyebrow, challenging him to ask more questions.

"_I'll gladly take him up on that."_

He tried to look thoughtful. "I guess I will and I'm looking forward to it." He let his lips curl in a little smile, and hoped it didn't look neither malicious nor nervous. "But this is a big project, yes? Surely you can't rely only on a fund to give you economical safety?"

"No. I have other means as well, although those are private. Alex didn't mention this to you?" Suddenly Felix voice was chilled at the edges, sharp as frost, and his eyes glinted with the beginnings of distrust.

Had Piers not been at this game for three days now, he would've floundered and stuttered. But, surprising himself, he shook his head and adopted a quizzical look. "No, I'm pretty sure he didn't." Even the fake laugh he forced past his lips sounded all right. "Should he have? I'm sorry if I'm bothering you with my questions, I'm just very new at this and I wish to learn as much as I can so that I can become a better aid to your research-team. I've dabbled in finances myself, helping Alex from time to time at the Marina Zoo."

As Felix continued to be silent, Piers felt his smile wilter. "I didn't mean to offend you..." He said, fiddling absently with his seatbelt to keep his body from wanting to shuffle back from under Felix gaze.

"_Looks like I stepped on a landmine this time..."_

Whatever it was that Felix looked for, he seemed convinced and his eyes softened yet again. "You did not offend me. I was merely surprised." His shoulders moved in a small shrug, and he threw a glance out the window, to the passing streets and buildings. "We're here."

And the car came to a slow stop, Babi jumping out and opening Piers door with movements that were so sure and executed with such thoughtless ease that they must've been practised and used countless times. He gave the older man an appreciative smile, a smile that Babi readily returned, and got out of the car. He gratefully stretched his arms and back, shaking off the fuzzy blanket of fatigue with a deep breath of the evening air, then turned and peeked into the car to look at Felix.

"Thank you for the dinner, it was delicious." Piers said, resting one hand on the car's roof as the other one held the door open. "At what time am I expected tomorrow?"

"At four." Felix leaned towards the open door, frowning slightly. "There's not much for you to process, I'm afraid. The next expedition leaves two days from now; I'll make sure you're amongst the researchers accompanying the divers."

Piers was stumped. "I... I'd like that. A lot, in fact. Thank you, Felix. _Merci_." The early beginnings of excitement built up in his stomach at the mere thought of being on the open sea, and he couldn't help but chuckle as Felix frowned at him when he slipped into his native language. "I'll see you at four tomorrow then." He grinned as Felix nodded and the dark haired man moved to close the door, his fingers brushing ever so slightly against Piers hand. Just a ghost of a touch really, but the Frenchman felt the smile jitter on his lips, and he was almost certain his breathing stopped for a second. As he jerked back and tried to collect himself, the car was already moving and he was grateful that Felix hadn't noticed anything.

"_It was just surprise... nothing else. Maybe a reaction to his offer, I mean, to think I can finally get out on the open sea again! I'm just excited and jumpy. Imagining things..." _

He stood on the pavement and watched the car disappear into the meandering jumble of cars and cabs, only barely suppressing the shiver that raced down his arms and made goosebumps stand up straight, his skin obviously missing the warmth of the car, and then turned his gaze towards the luxurious double doors of the hotel. He pursed his lips, thinking briefly about what to do, but then decided to go with what he'd decided in the car.

He was going to go home for a bit. His real home, his shoddy apartment with cold linoleum floors, just to stabilize a bit and maybe grab some personal things. He hadn't, after all, been able to pack a single thing (except Alex as of yet mysteriously unpacked bags... that were actually his own to begin with) and even though he was childishly looking forward to enter his suite at the hotel, he was also a bit anxious to go home. Maybe talk to Karst and inform her about his whereabouts so she wouldn't think he'd gotten murdered or something, maybe pet Agatio if he could catch the lazy cat in a agreeable mood, and he should probably try to empty out the fridge so the food wouldn't go bad in there... a task that wouldn't take too long, since his fridge was used to be half-empty at all times anyway.

"Mr. Lemúrìan! Piers!" A voice broke his haze of contemplation, and a young man jogged down the stairs with a grin on his lips.

"Ah, Susa!" Piers smiled at the unexpected appearance. "How are you?"

Susa laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm great, today was a cakewalk compared to yesterday." He shyly averted his eyes for a second, but tried to hide it by shoving a hand through his brown hair. "Kushinada was really happy, so... yeah, I'm glad it's smooth sailing for a while. The announcement has us fully booked, as you might know."

The Frenchman tried not to snicker at the cutesy way the youth was so obviously tiptoeing around the crush he had on Kushinada, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Feli- eh, Mr. Newvale mentioned it earlier." He got an idea. "Hey, Susa... where's the nearest bus-stop?"

The piccolo raised his eyebrows. "Errr... bus-stop? You don't want me to get you a cab instead?" He moved hesitantly towards the entrance again. "We have reserved cars for our guests, I'll have one here to pick you up in a minute."

"No, no! That won't be necessary, there's no need to-" Piers blurted out, his mind immediately comparing the bus-fare with the note for a cab. He stopped his blabbering as he saw Susa's confused expression. No doubt that the rich and famous people that stayed here would rather have a private cab, but he was a far cry from their standard. That, and he didn't really want to use Alex card for things that were unnecessary. "I'd rather take the bus."

"...Really? You sure?" The youth asked, sounding amused. "Why?"

"More eco-friendly." Piers immediately said, the first thing that came to mind really.

The young man's face lit up. "Ha, you really are a biologist! That's great!" He thought for a moment. "I guess the nearest would be just right around the corner, past that coffee-shop down there." He pointed at a small café down the street.

Piers nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Susa chuckled, sounding a bit amazed. "It's what I do for a living. If a guest needs help, I'm happy to oblige." He turned to walk back up the stairs, but only got halfway up before he turned. "And don't forget my tip this time, 'kay?" He shouted, grinning boyishly down at the marine-biologist.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Piers shouted back, and couldn't help an amused snort at the polished bellboy that stood by the doors. He looked completely flabbergasted by Susa's gall to shout at a hotel guest like that. Piers waved as the youth disappeared into the lobby.

It only took him a couple of minutes to get to the bus-stop, but a good ten minutes to figure out in which direction he had to go to get home. He had to switch at the central hub; it was bustling with busy people with busy lives, faceless and nameless to him but all the same a part of his life as he weaved through the crowds to get to his next bus. He found it awing that so many people could be so completely unaware of everyone else's existence, and as he greeted the bus-driver with a little smile and got an appreciative nod back he figured that _that man_, behind the wheels of a transporting vehicle, must see so many different faces every day. So many different things, yet his place remained constant. He kind of liked the idea, but was a bit frightened by the sheer enormity of the metropolis. But at the same time... it was a bit thrilling too.

"_Funny, how at home I feel here now. Who'd have thought?"_

Yeah, he'd settled down nicely here, in the big city. A lot was Alex work, he'd have to admit, with the job and the friendship they shared. He leaned his head against the cool window as the bus drove off, almost fell into a light slumber but quickly jumped awake as a baby started screaming at it's daddy. He glanced at the scene as the father tried all imaginable manners of soothing techniques for his child to quiet down, wondered briefly what it was like to have family like that, and then looked up at the evening sky and tried not to be bothered with the baby's wailing.

By the time he hopped off, it'd gotten colder outside and he shivered as the dank warmth of the crowded bus left his skin sensitive to the chill. A quick walk led him home-

"_My real home, my own little fortress."_

_- _and he automatically reached into the pocked of his jeans to get the keys to the front door that they kept locked, for everybody's safety. They weren't there. Piers grumbled and shoved his hand into the other pocket, only to find nothing there either except for the card key to the hotel room and his cell-phone. Then he remembered.

These were jeans that Alex had bought for him. New jeans. And he'd been at the hotel since last night and thus, his keys had never had the pleasure of acquainting themselves with said jeans since they were still inhabited in his old work-clothes. He swore a low curse in French, and sighed. Well, there was one thing he could do to save the evening...

His finger found the right buzzer by the door and waited patiently, looking through the glass paneling of the door, until he saw a short, elderly woman come walking down the stairs. He smiled and waved at her and she squinted her eyes suspiciously at him, but then she seemed to recognize him and suddenly hurried down the last steps. She opened the door surprisingly quickly for her age, and proceeded to pull Piers in by his hand.

"Piers, dear!" She gripped his hands tightly. "What happened? Did someone rob you? Did they take your keys?" She looked him over, eyes searching for anything that would even hint at him being in trouble.

She was funny like that, always assuming the worst. Piers guessed it wasn't all that uncommon for people to get mugged around these parts of town though. He shook his head gently, turning his hands to hold hers in a loose grip. "No, no Miss Karst, nothing like that. I... misplaced them, that's all. You see, last night..." He wondered how to explain everything, but found that he didn't have to explain squat.

"Oh, goodness me dear boy, don't look so crestfallen about a pair of silly keys!" Karst chuckled happily, blinking at him with watery eyes. "I don't mind letting you in. Do you need me to unlock the apartment door too?" She had already begun to, slowly but steadily, make her way up the stairs again.

He hurried after, slowing so they'd walk side by side. "Yes, please. And thank you Miss Karst, really. I know where they keys are, I just forgot them. I'm staying at... a friends place right now. Uhh... I'll probably be there a lot for a few days." His lie sounded so hollow, but she wasn't asking any questions about it.

She chuckled a bit more and muttered something about the follies of youth, and let him into his apartment using her spare key. She, as the landlady, had access to all apartments and storage spaces in the apartment complex after all. He thanked her, she brushed it off again and they bid each other good night. Karst said she would lock his apartment up after he left.

It was dark and chilly in his apartment and for a moment he felt foreign in there, like he didn't belong there. But that was silly, and he groped around for the lightswitch.

Once the light-bulbs hummed to life and filled the hallway with their soft, electrically yellow light he felt more at ease. No one could see him here, no one thought he was something he wasn't. He didn't bother trying to turn up the heat; he wasn't going to waste time (and money) as he wasn't going to stay for long. He made his way to the kitchen (thankfully clean so he didn't have to do any dishes) and proceeded to open and organize his fridge. The poor thing was gaping empty, something that was pretty handy right now, and all he had to toss out was a carton of milk, some vegetables and half-thawed meat that should've been dinner yesterday.

With that matter out of the way he wandered off into the bathroom and grabbed a few toiletries, took a side-tour into his bedroom to pick some more things up, and then stalked out into the hallway again. He had no potted plants to water, nothing that needed to be seen to more than the food. Not even a cat. Even old lady Karst had a _cat _to come home to.

"_When I think about it, it's pretty pathetic... sometimes it's kind of lonely."_

He shook of those thoughts, they were just in the way. He didn't have time to linger on personal stuff like that, not right now. Suddenly his cell-phone buzzed to life, startling him from his little dip into melancholy.

He answered it without thinking. "Yeah, it's Piers."

[I know who you are.] It was Alex voice, and he sounded irritated. [Where are you?]

Oh shit. Hadn't Alex said to call him after the dinner? Piers guessed he had. "Hey, I know I forgot to call you. I'm sorry, there was a lot going on and it just slipped my mind. I'm home now though."

[_Home?_ _Home_ where?!]

Piers flinched away from the phone. Why was Alex upset all of a sudden? "In my apartment, Alex. My own home. Everything's fine, Mia had a good time and Felix and I-"

Alex hissed. [Does he know that you're not living at the hotel?! Did he see you-]

"What? Christ Alex, no! Of course not! He gave me a ride to the hotel, and when he left I just took the bus." Piers cut his friend off, wanting to explain things properly without Alex blowing a fuse.

"_Odd though, he rarely gets emotional like this."_

[Good. That's... good. But why, may I ask, are you even there?]

"I just wanted to pick up a few things and make sure I didn't come home to an apartment that smells like someone _died_ in there because I didn't throw the raw meat out from the fridge. Calm down, Alex." His back thumped against the front door, and he leaned back to rest on it while grabbing his jacket from the nearby coat-rack.

[Ah... I apologize. It's been a stressful day, and I'm exhausted, but that is no excuse for me to take it out on you, my friend. I'm sorry.] Alex sighed, sounding tired to the bone. [So, did you make any progress today?]

The Frenchman made a disbelieving little noise. "You, saying sorry? Mia was right, I must be special! Oh, and thank you for the outfit _darling_, it was just wonderful." He grinned into the phone as he heard Alex amused snicker, and he was pleased to have broken the weird tension between them. "Well, I don't know if it's progress or not, but I brought the subject of finances and funds up in any case. You know about the Anemos fund right?" He heard an affirmative sound from the other side of the phone. "Yeah, I asked if he had _other _things involved in the economy of the project, and he mentioned that he had private means."

[And those means, _my dear_, are what we want.] Alex purred in the phone. [It's not much, but it's a start. That he trust you enough to let you in on this means more than you can imagine, Piers. I do think you underestimate yourself sometimes.]

Piers grimaced. "I don't know." He said, instead of trying to convey that _he didn't want Felix to believe him just so that he could break his trust goddamnit! _But it was what it took to get the Zoo back on track, and it wasn't like it was Felix money to begin with. And he was rich... maybe he wouldn't even notice it went missing?

"_Since when did I have a little voice in my head that sounds like Alex making excuses for myself?"_

"Hey, I have to go. Takes me a while to get back to the hotel and since I'm guessing I have to be at the Zoo tomorrow, it'd be nice with some sleep." And it would be, preferably without dreaming too much. Especially not after last night...

[Yes, you're required here, I'm afraid. The... dolphin, was it? Pregnant I think? Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were... still on the right track, so to speak.] Alex said, now sounding strangely detached. [I won't keep you any longer. I'll see you at work.]

"Yeah, good-" Piers heard the click that meant Alex had hung up. "-night?" He finished lamely for himself. What a great way to end a conversation, buddy.

He heaved a massive sigh, one of the kind that felt like you inhaled the all the worlds problems and exhaled nothing but bits and pieces of your soul and sanity, keeping all the heavy rocks of trouble and worry inside your chest. And there it settled nicely, invading him, suffocating him. His head bumped against the door and he stared unseeingly at the softly glowing light-bulbs, heard their quiet, monotonous hum of artificial life. For a couple of minutes that was his whole world, a pool of light in a cold, dark and damp apartment (that smelled faintly of _old _things, forgotten things) and he felt strangely determined.

"_You know what? Fuck it. I'm outta here. I need to go to sleep, so I can go to work and not have to think about anything else than the money I need to get my hands on. No thinking about Alex weird moods. No thinking about Felix and his... his weird way of getting to me. No thinking about... myself."_

He nodded. That sounded like a deal as good as any in his situation. He turned on his heel and proceeded to leave an empty apartment and went back to anonymity, to luxurious hotels and extravagant lies. Oh, and lucky him there was some change in the pockets on his jacket. At least Susa would get his tip this time.

Well, that was always something.

* * *

His hand was shaking from the urge to throw the phone into the wall. The miserable thing creaked in his tight grip, but he made it. He found the self-control (formed it inside his head and let it transform his rampaging anger into something malleable, something useful) to put the device down on the small table beside him, and for that he congratulated himself. Icy blue locks of hair fell around his face as he bent forward to stare at his knees, and at his other hand that convulsively gripped at the chairs armrest.

"_He went home."_

That stupid, naïve little...

He watched his knuckles turn white as his fingers dug into the cushioned armrest, before they slowly relaxed as he breathed out. He had to stay calm, had to stay composed.

Lips twitched in a stiff, lopsided grin and his teeth unclenched somewhat. He was _good_ at being calm, he would figure something out.

Something to make Piers stop letting his petty desires take control over him, over the bigger picture.

"_He went home. He went back to that disgusting, godforsaken flea-pit of an apartment."_

If he had been seen... if Felix would've even _suspected _that something wasn't what it seemed to be.._._ his chances of getting that money would've been blow away faster than he could say _fraud._

Alex growled, throwing himself up from the chair and stalked across his living-room, coming to a halt in front of a small box in his bookshelf. Opening it, he took out a small metallic object and he absently let his fingers play with it as a seed of an idea began to form in his mind. It was something he had thought of prior to this event, but now it took shape in a more favourable way.

It would be a brilliant move, should he choose to put the plan into action.

"_You can't have nice things if you keep ignoring my rules, my dear friend"_

The grin spread out on his lips, something malicious glinted in his eyes, and he held the key up to reflect the light from his muted television. Piers had gone _home_, he'd said. His own little sanctuary, eh? That atrocious old landlady must've let him in, since Piers wouldn't have had the key in his possession.

Alex knew this since said key was the one currently in his hand. The key he had happened to relieve Piers of, before Alex took to packing the marine-biologist bags. Silly little man, didn't he know it wasn't safe to leave his clothes and everything in their pockets unattended?

Such things weren't even safe inside Alex office...

"_Let us see if we can remedy this little side-step of yours, Piers."_

* * *

I'm pretty fukken sure I need a beta-reader for this story now. My eyes can't keep up with all the auto-corrections and spelling-errors anymore. Shame I'm such a clueless person who don't even know how to go about getting a good beta-reader. If there are errors I've missed, I apologize profusly.

Garet is pretty much always happy, and all Texicans (all three) I met on my journey were happy and nice people, therefore Garet is now forever some kind of questionable Texas-offspring!

In other news: Alex is now officially cranky!

Thank you all for reading, you're all amazing and really groovy people! Hope to see you reviewing too, it just takes a minute and you'll make me childishly happy!


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